My name is Paul, I am 45 years old. I am a father and have been a postie for the last 11 years. I own my home in Northern NSW and currently I still like a beer, pizza, watching sport on TV, coffee etc. In the last 3 months I started dating an esoteric student who invited me to do the 2017 Universal Medicine Retreat in Lennox Head with her.
Prior to the retreat I was nervous, unsure what was ahead. I had been to a couple of Universal Medicine events and heard stories of people’s transformation – especially my girlfriend Rosie’s past to where she is at now – but wasn’t really sure what the retreat would be like.
On arrival I felt the love between the people that knew each other, big warm hugs going down everywhere I looked. I felt comfortable and I sat down and was open to learning more.
To be honest I struggled for the first two days . . . no caffeine, chocolate, dairy or gluten to keep me going. A bit of a challenge from my normal ways of living. Sitting in the seat my eyes kept closing on me. I definitely struggled but I loved what was presented: all related to why I was struggling in the first place!
I loved what Serge Benhayon shared, especially about the stars and the universe and energy. I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.
On the third day I really didn’t want to get up. I needed that coffee hit. I just wanted to stay in bed and be comfortable but I didn’t give up. I started seeing chocolate on all the tables around me, even though there was no chocolate! My mind was playing tricks on me but during the day I managed a beach walk and sleep to recharge, and by the end of it I was feeling clearer and loved opening up more to what was on offer.
The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.
It was lovely to meet some new people, and be supported with the right foods to keep me on track for the week.
Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon are truly inspirational people and I am glad I made the decision to do the Universal Medicine Retreat and I know that this is really just the beginning.
I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.
By Paul
Further Reading:
Universal Medicine Retreat…. and Advance!
Before and After My Self Love Program – Forever Unfolding the Real Me
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
Amazing transformation Paul, and this simple story can be possible for everyone when we let go as you have done and accept what our bodies are Truly sharing about life.
Hi Paul, I always enjoy reading this, and had a giggle about you seeing chocolate everywhere! Universal Medicine retreats are very simple, they are life changing and the environment is one of love and brotherhood (to the best of our ability) amongst the students. I’ve been attending Universal Medicine retreats annually since 2013 and I find they provide a wonderful new foundation each year for me to live from, they bring such a richness and depth to life that I never want to miss one.
That openness to hearing or being present within something that is not currently the mainstream is a great start to questioning and changing life. Especially when that ‘not mainstream’ is a completely different energetic stream.
A Universal Medicine 5 day Retreat can be quite challenging but I love that you stuck with it, going cold turkey on caffeine gluten, dairy, and chocolate is not easy but as you have shown it is well worth it for you get to feel what it is like to have a clear mind and body and the lightness and joy that this brings.
It was quite amazing that you went cold turkey on coffee, chocolate, dairy and gluten all at the same time, well done.
The retreats and courses from Universal Medicine are profound in terms of what takes place… understanding of life is quadrupled and deepened with each event, not to mention how my physical body feels in terms of being open, vital and joyful.
The struggle you felt Paul going without gluten, dairy and caffeine on the retreat, is something many will relate to. In daily living we’re presented with the same energetic choices – ones that hold and support us and those that do not. This is a constant, each movement builds on the next for expansion or stagnation.
Paul what a pleasure to read about your experience of the Lennox Head retreat, in particular that you were seeing chocolates everywhere and the mind playing tricks. You discerned this and tuned into your body which was just awesome as we constantly ignore those or any signals it communicates.
So true about the important role that the food plays in supporting us during the retreat. We are not completely without our own responsibility to discern what to eat and how much to eat, but still it gives us a great blueprint on how we could support ourselves if the energy/vibration we get presented in is what we would like to have as our everyday life and not just reserved for the retreat.
Love your shared experience of your first Universal Medicine retreat Paul. In reading this I could feel how in our openness to being honest with ourselves and to exploring the truth we have greater awareness to a quality within that allows us to feel the truth of who we are and how to support ourselves to live who we naturally are.
Very gorgeous to feel you express from the honesty of your body Paul. It is very refreshing to feel someone talk this way. Just you sharing this alone in they way you did allows another the space to feel and be in the honesty of their body also.
I can appreciate how you say that it’s a journey that unfolds from within us and at the same time also be assisted by truly supportive tools on offer, helping us reconnect more with that inner compass.
Great blog Paul, I can relate to what you’ve shared. I remember my first Universal Medicine retreat, I loved every part of it except I struggled for the first three days with Esoteric Yoga in the mornings. My body felt restless and uncomfortable, and the sessions seemed so long but by day 4 and 5, I really got to appreciate how powerful Esoteric Yoga is, and it supported me to feel how tired and restless my body was due to the way I had been living.
I love this blog – it is so simple and to the point and very inspiring.
The Universal Medicine Retreats offer us so much wisdom, love and greater truth, they are simply life-changing if we embrace and begin to live what is presented.
A great sharing Paul on your first Universal Medicine Retreat, life changing events in many ways.
The Universal Medicine retreat has offered me huge benefits. With the tools given I am able to handle all things in life.
There is always this moment when we stop eating a food we were addicted to that we feel horrible and want to sleep, be moody or anything really. What I love knowing though is that once we are through that there is greater clarity and awareness in the body and I support myself going through it by knowing that.
It was great that Paul felt clearer a few days after cutting out certain foods, and attending the Retreat, ‘I was feeling clearer and loved opening up more to what was on offer.’
I could not agree with you more how Esoteric Yoga complements the retreat. Whether it is at the retreat or whether it is a separate program, it is a powerful modality and like no other exercise I have ever performed before. It brings you back to your body and helps you recognise when you’ve gone into drive or hardness – I simply love the simplicity of it.
I love Esoteric Yoga, and find it particularly supportive having it before the retreat in the am, and at the end of the day, in the pm.
Hi Paul, I loved what you have shared, love the honesty and the willingness to show that we are addicted to things, and don’t realise how dependent/reliant we are on these foods or drink until we don’t have them for several days, yet we still made it and survived without them too. From this something to appreciate that underneath all of this, the true essence is and will always be there.
I love how much you loved what was being presented. So much so that you kept going back each day and continued to appreciate each moment, even when it was struggle – you could see the value in re-connecting with yourself. This to me shows the great love that you already are, just waking up again.
There are hundreds and hundreds of stories like this, and it doesn’t mean people become feverent students who attend each and every event but their lives are changed forever and given amazing tools to live. You can’t statistically quantify this positive impact Universal Medicine has had.
Many students have turned their lives around in amazing ways, Universal Medicine is like a God-send for supporting us to return to who we truly are
“and was open to learning more” – this really is the key to life, to be open to learning more. When you are open, it is not saying that what is going to be presented is going to be true (or not), it just means you are open to hearing it, seeing it, and experiencing it. Then YOU decide what feels true to you or not. But if we are not open, we cut off that opportunity at the knees.
We are forever students, always learning more, and letting go of what is not true.
Such a beautifully honest and open blog about your experience Paul, thank you for sharing.
I love your honesty here Paul, it is so refreshing as you tell your first retreat experience exactly like it was. I am sure many in your situation would have not lasted the five days, but chocolate hallucinations and all you were there until the end and I get the feeling you are very pleased that you did.
I read your blog again Paul because it feels so honest and true what you are expressing to the world. That there is another way to live we don’t have to crush ourselves with all the distractions we have come up with to keep ourselves away from feeling true love. True love is very powerful and if humanity were to embrace their own love we would all be leading such different lives. A colleague of mine after many years of driving long distance to and from work has semi-retired and doesn’t have the drive any more in stopping they were able to connect to the stress they were constantly under just because of the drive on the motorway and was honest enough to admit that the stress has contributed to their health problems. At the time they were so caught up with making sure they had a secure job to go to that their focus was not on their body. How many of us live like this? And what effect is this having on our bodies?
This is a great example Mary of how we prioritise, very often to our own detriment. We get caught up in what we think we ought to do, or what is expected of us. This impacts on our mental, emotional and then of course physical lives. By letting go of the hold these beliefs or ideals have on us, we can begin to open to a more spacious and enjoyable way of being that nurtures, rather than slowly destroying us.
Letting go of the false beliefs, ideals, and pictures is very freeing, and can allow us to move away from behaviours that are not loving, or evolving.
The struggle with life gets revealed in full in an Unimed event. The possibility of the future is also there in your face.
“The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.”
I agree wholeheartedly with you Paul – Esoteric Yoga is a simple and powerful tool that is a living way, far beyond just attending a session.
I love the realisations you share here Paul – when we feel the end result of our choices from the body, we have more awareness of what we have been suppressing through those ill-choices.
“I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am”.
I have just completed a Universal Medicine retreat too and it was amazing to feel the love and support on offer to everyone there and also to allow myself to be more of me.
It is only when we become more aware, that we realise the extent that we have been living unaware and how much we have used a certain from of comfort and numbness to not feel the truth of all that is happening around us. Although this can feel uncomfortable at first, as we begin to adjust to our new level of awareness and fine tune our way of living to support this, we establish a new norm that becomes very hard to trade for anything less.
Yes it is such a gift to be offered the space to be clear of the usual auto-pilot patterns and behaviours and to actually feel underneath them a quality that feels much clearer and then suddenly we view the old ways of living for what they really are.
Wow, good on you for sticking with it. It can be really challenging to step out of our comfort zones into something so powerful but it only goes to show that when our heart truly wants something anything is possible.
The Universal Medicine retreats are extraordinarily simple, yet powerful reflections of another way to live and be, bringing out the truer and clearer versions of ourselves.
I love that you have done this blog Paul, it’s real and honest. It’s not so easy to chose the path of fiery truth, the temptation of comfort is forever on our tails. So good to read the ups and down and the gold that comes from it.
I love how you describe it as just the start, I’ve done a number of Universal Medicine retreats and they’ve been INCREDIBLE, but then you get to take what you’ve experienced into the world and explore that – and you are right – it’s very much just the start – but the start of something amazing.
Connecting with the body and being in the moment presents lots of new info and questioning regarding how this experience had gone un-noticed for so long. We are amazing and divine beings and your experience of claiming this Paul sounds like an unfolding you have not had before. I really appreciate your honesty and sharing.
New attendees at the Universal Medicine retreats are not the only ones to feel they are struggling for the first day or two. Serge Benhayon delivers the truth to us, something we know irrefutably but live in denial of this truth. This has to cause an initial tension when the two meet.
I love that you have shared this Paul, no bell and whistles just straight talk of how it is.
That’s all there is, to be attentive to the body each and every step—not judging whatever it wants—foods, drinks, sleep, just respect what it is telling us and give it the care it needs.
Gosh, if we would be all open to learning, to love and taking responsibility as you describe here, Paul, the world would be a different place.
Paul thank you for sharing your first experience of a Universal Medicine Retreat, it is a great reminder that when we connect to our essence we are aware of so much more.
I understand this, it is surprising when we take some of our habitual ways of keeping us going away….”To be honest I struggled for the first two days . . . no caffeine, chocolate, dairy or gluten to keep me going. A bit of a challenge from my normal ways of living. ” I have felt like this, and first I felt exhausted and then I began to feel a new vitality I did not know I could feel.
A gorgeous sharing Paul, thank you, your openness to understand and experience at the retreat, that there is a different way to live is so simply expressed because when we get ourselves out of the way it is so simple connecting to the divine you.
This is so wonderful Paul ” I sat down and was open to learning more. ” Sounds a bit like what the Buddha did.
Wow it sounds amazing your experience at the retreat. I remember my first retreat/courses I attended, it felt like a hard slog at the time and quite often at that, so well done for giving yourself/the retreat five days to play out and reveal if there was anything that resonated with you. I feel it’s super important that you have made the decision to honour what feels right for you rather than something you hear or see, you are an inspiration, thanks Paul
What strikes me about your honest sharing Paul is how you felt and discerned what was true for you. Demonstrating that something can be presented and felt for truth or not and that it is not about adopting rules as a way of being because someone else does it.
What an honest and sweet account of your experience.
Finding our way back to our True Religious roots as is presented at the Universal Medicine Retreats is life changing. This is because these Retreats are sharing how we can simply reconnect so it is like we find our own way through our pile of chocolate!
What I love about what Paul has captured here is that there is never any perfection being a student of yourself and the ageless wisdom. You are constantly seeing the metaphorical ‘chocolate bars’ in your life, and being asked by your body to let go of them, so you can be clearer, more open, loving and true to who you are.
It is a powerful realization for a man to understand that true healing is from within and it’s got nothing to do with what we do in any way, shape or form. For it is our willingness to let go of the hardness and protection that allows us to embrace the beauty of the tenderness within once again.
Well said Fransisco
I agree totally
Hear hear, Francisco, well said and so true. Thanks to Paul, you and many other men that are willing to embrace and show their tenderness I am learning to trust men again.
True healing is from within, it is indeed beautiful to see a man embrace his tenderness, ‘it is our willingness to let go of the hardness and protection that allows us to embrace the beauty of the tenderness within once again.’
What you have shared with us all Paul is very revealing that you became aware that what you ate and drank actually was suppressing you and dulling your awareness of your body and life. And so you don’t get to feel who you really are in essence.
So it is possible to say that is how the majority of us live by the very food and drink we consume, completely unaware of ourselves and checked out on how life could be if we stopped consuming ‘junk food’ There has been enough research on this topic to know that a lot of the food we eat is detrimental to our bodies but we continue to consume it? I wonder why we do this in spite of all the evidence stacked up against such a way of life.
Paul I so appreciate your honesty thank you, what Serge Benhayon offers to the world is priceless, he knows all about the universe and how everything is a cycle within a cycle. And this makes sense as we can see here on Earth that we are constantly living in cycles, We go round and round the sun going nowhere. That’s a huge cycle in itself 24/7/365, so it makes sense to me there are even more cycles to be aware of. My question is why isn’t this information taught as part of our education? We are so missing out on the truth of life.
“The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.” The Esoteric Yoga sessions offered during the retreats are so powerful. We can gift this stillness to ourselves every day.
“On arrival I felt the love between the people that knew each other, big warm hugs going down everywhere I looked. I felt comfortable and I sat down and was open to learning more.” Beautiful Paul. Universal Medicine events feel very different to any other gathering of people I have ever been to.
“I felt so connected and clear afterwards.”…it’s quite amazing when you take a stop to something, even if for a few days, to see what the effects are in your body, to see how you feel. When we do this, we become our own scientists of our own body, experimenting, see what effects what. It is a pretty amazing process. We know ourselves better than anyone else around, but we need to spend time with ourselves to realise that.
It is a great gift to have a friend who knows us to the core and when we lose it, there they are with just the reminders and encouragement to support us to find ourself once again. Everything about Universal Medicine is based on deeply confirming and supporting us remembering and living at the deepest most glorious level of our essence. A most precious steady, inspiring and loyal friend indeed.
To be loved with no judgement is the greatest gift of all. The moment judgement enters the equation, love departs. Or more correctly put – we depart from love.
Beautifully said Liane, and I feel our world is currently smothered with judgement and starved of love, but I know this is already shifting thanks to Universal Medicine for showing the world how easy it is to return to love. They offer simple and practical tools for us all and continuously inspire more and more people each day with the absolute love and truth that they reflect unconditionally.
‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’ WOW! Amazing says it all really and I agree that is exactly what I feel with regards to Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and The Ageless Wisdom teaching. Every person on earth has the right to this and to know this. When I was younger if I knew now what I know then I know my life would have been sooo different and so much easier as you have found too.
Thank you, Paul. Your sharing makes me really appreciate how the Universal Medicine retreats are set up to support us from every angle – the food, the programme, the breaks, yoga etc. We start very early and the days are very full, but spacious. Those 24 hours I experience during the retreat feel completely different from my everyday life, but everything I experience there is to be taken back home to be lived. There’s so much on offer at the retreat and I wouldn’t want to miss that, but the truth is even without the retreat we are never without opportunities to evolve, it is in the way I live my every day that truly heals and evolves me to what is available and I am ready for next.
This is beautiful testament to the fact the what Universal Medicine offers are tools for what is ultimately our own self-initiated journey of exploring, discovering and realising who we truly are in essence, guided only by our connection to our bodies and truth within.
Absolutely Carola and this is why I love attending as many Universal Medicine courses, presentations, and workshops as possible because they are very powerful and very supportive for every aspect of life. The tools from Universal Medicine help guide us back to love, to reconnect us to our Soul/Essence and to live a purposeful and evolving life.
Thanks for sharing your experience here Paul. So much is on offer at the Universal Medicine retreats, which broadens our view and inspires our re-connection.
Hi Paul, thanks for sharing your blog is inspiring to read as there is so much that we have hidden from ourselves about who we truly are. We do know everything we have just chosen not to be aware and have dulled ourselves down to such an extent we have accepted a comfortable life even though actually it is not comfortable at all because our bodies know the truth and is always in the unrest until it reunites back to truth. That is why when we meet people like Serge Benhayon our bodies resonate to the truth that is lived in their bodies, even though the mind is protesting at times our bodies have a inbuilt sensor for truth because we come from absolute truth.
It is such a blessing to be given an opportunity to truly feel who we are in essence, even if we do not choose to be that we have had the opportunity to know.
Paul this is so refreshing to read. I love how you so unashamedly honest. There is much beauty in this alone.
Thanks Vicky, so glad I wrote this blog..
Just from all the heartfelt comments to also touch so many others.. I’m now at esoteric healing level two and loving the healing taking place..
I can feel the deep respect for your choices that you received in a space like that. It’s only from this respect, that we can feel what works and doesn’t work in our life by ourselves. No pressure to change anything, just an endless love that makes us aware of what supports us or not in the love that we already are. The rest is up to us, as always..
I agree Paul it is only the beginning… enjoy the journey for there is much to appreciate along the way.
“I realise this journey comes from within”. Bingo. That’s it. Such an important realisation and one that can change the world. It absolutely happens from within. It is our decisions.
Imagine if we were all given the opportunity to remember that and then live and parent from that space?! How amazing would our communities be?
What this reveal is the extent to which our bodies, our patterns of movements are a real hindrance to our capacity to connect to something that is true and yet, if we honor what we feel is true, true prevails since the body ends up surrendering to it.
I laughed as I read that you saw chocolate on all the tables – I have so been there! Thank you for sharing, I haven’t been to a retreat in a few years but have booked into next years off the back of your gentle reminder of the magic and simplicity that is on offer.
Ha ha Lucy! What we saw on the Table of the Constellations far outshone chocolate and all its relatives – it was closer to the famous Emerald Table on which was inscribed ‘As above, So below).
That is so lovely to hear Lucy, yes I actually walked up to buy some!
Part of my journey is learning to express more as I have chronic neck pain from a motorbike accident. Knowing how I have touched so many in some way is amazing for me..
Sure I went back into my way of living but through more awareness I have changed a lot in my life including my diet..
Thank you Paul for sharing so honestly your experience of the Retreat, opening up to the love you truly are, and feeling this in your body. Well done.
Thanks Jill, I have never really expressed before and was tearing up reading everyone’s replies..
This is a very brave and honest blog, thank you for taking the time to share it with us, look foward to meeting you one day.
Your welcome Sarah,
Thanks for your sharing, I really enjoy reading everyone’s comments.
Love how it’s all about bringing it back to who you truly are..
Excited to be doing level one healing soon..
Hopefully get to meet you soon..
Before and After any Universal medicine event is something to write home about – and well, the before and after a Retreat is something even more truly amazing. We are never the same again and the depth to which one can know truth is monumental.
I love how you say it is just the beginning, and the beautiful part is that there is no end.
I used to be desperate to get to the end of the learning so I could start living – what a rabbit hole that was! There is no end, this is life education, lifetimes after lifetimes and what a gift it is. To be able to peel back the layers to discover who we naturally are underneath all the behaviours and protections and then live that in our lives and with our families is one enormous gift from heaven.
I love that whether it is a retreat, healing course, presentation, audio or book I get a deeper of awareness of the Truth that is presented and so can bring this to life.
Any workshop that I attend that is presented by Serge Benhayon is extraordinary and changes everything about life in the most beautiful way Thank you Paul for the continuing reminder of how we can shape and reshape our world.
Quite an intense experience to go cold turkey, but wow what a opportunity to feel something so different to your normal. Of course it can be harder to make that change on an ongoing basis, but great to have the marker.
The Universal Medicine Retreats really are life changing the depth of wisdom and love that comes from them can be felt. We may try to resist or dismiss but when truth is spoken it is felt with every cell of our body
I applaud your honesty Paul when you say:
“To be honest I struggled for the first two days . . . no caffeine, chocolate, dairy or gluten to keep me going. A bit of a challenge from my normal ways of living. Sitting in the seat my eyes kept closing on me. I definitely struggled but I loved what was presented: all related to why I was struggling in the first place!”
For most of us we don’t want to be honest enough to admit that the food and drink we consume affects us so much. I have a friend who is a sports/life coach and has been for at least 25 + years and back when she was a top world class competing athlete she knew that pasta dulled her body even if it was wheat free etc. And she has been advising her clients for many years to not eat dairy or gluten because it has such an adverse effect on their bodies. We do know this fact however for most of us we choose to eat what we like because we can, and we think we can get away with it until we are faced with an illness or disease.
When we re-discover that the love we have been seeking for so long is within us, we do realise it is just the beginning of a stupendous journey back to our soul, and life does transform amazingly so right before our eyes.
Wow this is just awesome Paul , your first retreat and you nailed the life story of all humans ” I realise the journey comes from within ”
And also to be aware of what was presented ” and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth ”
It’s just lovely to hear a man , express like this thank you,
You just keep doing You Paul!
I think sometimes that we can get so familiar or used to using certain foods and drinks to keep us going that we forget how regenerating it can be to take ourselves for a walk, even just move a bit and stretch or to have a nap…
Yes Fiona, a walk that has a sense of purpose can be equally as regenerating as a 15 minute power nap that has the same purpose. The more focused I become, the more I am finding how restorative both these practices are.
Just having a bit of space – 5 minutes here and there can make such a difference. Could not agree more.
I have found lately, that even a five minute shut eye moment, can just stop the rush that I get caught up in, and change the course of my day. Each moment really cannot be underestimated.
Paul your blog is so beautifully honest and real, thank you for sharing this and I look forward to reading more from you.
I have days like that where I really don’t want to get up – sometimes I find it hard I think what’s the point – that’s when I know, sometimes it can take a while, these aren’t my thoughts.
I agree that, Esoteric Yoga really is simple and it so brings you back into your body. This has been my experience, the simple movements and the quality I feel when practicing it, is something that I have begun to bring into everyday life, feels very supportive.
On Day 3, you said you didn’t want to get up and you didn’t want to go. But you still did. Someone once said to me that even though I didn’t want to go to a particular event but did, it was my soul that packed me up and got me there. I love it when the soul does that
The truth is we are one and equal. There is no distinguishing of esoteric student and not. We are all people. We have everything the same within us. So there is no difference in us, except for our choices to be aware or not. There are tools which would support this awareness, but ultimately it is up to us to reclaim what is truth and when. We support each other by our livingness of this equality.
Well said, Adele.
This is great Paul, and I am still pondering on when are we ever going to be completely free of issues around food. The Livingness is forever expanding, as is the way of eating is constantly evolving, then feeling into the requirements of the body so it can be of service to humanity and this will never stop.
‘The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.’ Absolutely Paul – this yoga is so powerful. IT is amazing how such simplicity is so restorative and regenerative. Well worth spending a little time on, instead of ending up totally stressed out and ill, unable to cope with life.
I love the down to earthiness and realness in your blog, Paul.
This is beautiful Paul and very honest.
We attended the Universal Medicine Retreat in Vietnam this year and everything was amazing as usual but this time I really connected to the Esoteric Yoga, and could feel how solidly in our bodies we can walk as the Son of God if we choose. In my very first retreat in Vietnam we would lay on the floor to do the Esoteric Yoga and I hated every minute of it because my whole body was so painful, now I love it.
Paul isn’t it amazing that what we eat can really support us or not. We tend to just go for the quick and easy or the foods that taste so great but we ignore how they actually make us feel and the quality of our beings. Awesome you got to experience the whole retreat down to the food because everything does matter.
…I also have to add I just love the humbleness and honesty in what you have shared here Paul, and in a world that sometimes feels anything but humble and honest, it is very refreshing.
looking forward to the next instalment Paul.
I have done several Universal Medicine Retreats and just like you did Paul I usually struggle in the first few days as the comfortable status quo I usually live according to is rocked at its foundations and I am challenged to grow and evolve – so don’t ever think that you are alone in that as there would of been loads of us in that stadium feeling just like us. But as you say it is so worth it – the wisdom and clarity and practical learnings we are graced by at every Universal Medicine Retreat (and presentation/workshop for that matter) are worth absolute gold.
We have just had a 3 day Sacred Esoteric Healing level 4 in the UK and the difference in me is huge – life changing really. I walked into the course with nothing especially wrong, in fact my life was and still is amazing – and yet over the weekend I began to see how much I have held back all that I am from the world and I walk away from it far more claimed in myself, so everything feels different – there are not words to describe how amazing it feels.
Awesome!!
Thanks for sharing Rebecca. I would love to do level one
Thank you for sharing such an honest account of your experience Paul of a Universal Medicine retreat. And how you gave your self the space in those few days to feel what was actually going on with your body and how you dull it down so that you do not have to feel what is truly going on with your self and your interaction with life. It is quite something when we admit to ourselves that we can use all sorts of foods to take the edge of the tension we are constantly feeling and that tension is there to remind us that the life we are currently living is not it, that there is more to us than we presently want to admit too.
Sometimes when you read about the Esoteric it might sound odd – a lot of people talking about ‘fire’ and their ‘inner heart’. But especially when you come to an event and feel it for yourself, as you did Paul it’s hard to deny how awesome it actually feels – like a beautiful bath! Because of the way we have grown up we can get lots of ideas about retreats and anything that is different. Universal Medicine simply present that perhaps not all of those beliefs are what they seem, and what about the possibility that there is more to life? I for one am so glad I came along, its totally changed my life.
Love this, what is shared is the re-finding of our original ways, thought the teachings from universal Medicine and our own innate knowing of the way forward.
Most of the time we do not consider the fact that we do know what we are doing! For example we know the exact foods to eat that will either dull our awareness, lose our divine connection, becomes hard as a way of coping in life or become racy so that we not have to be still enough to know all that we know. It is great to have an opportunity to do something like a retreat where we have the space to see exactly what we are doing and to make new choices.
Beautiful to feel the effect of the retreat through such fresh eyes – it reminds me of how simple the offering of love is and also how strong the patterning is of all the normal, commonly accepted behaviours in regards of sugar, caffeine etc are. But most of all there is a confirmation that we all have that innate understanding and recognition of energy.
My relationship with life does come from within and having recently done a Universal Medicine Retreat I am inspired and humbled by the depth of wisdom we have access to.
I love reading this blog over and over as you remind me to appreciate myself and let go of judgement.
A retreat offering healing on so many levels, thank you for sharing your experience Paul. I love how the space is held for people to explore what is possible.
Paul, I love to come back to this blog because what you have to say could be life changing for others.
“I loved what Serge Benhayon shared, especially about the stars and the universe and energy. I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.”
How amazing would it be if we all came to this understanding that what we eat has such a huge effect on us to our detriment. That it was very easy for you to reconnect back to your body and in this awareness understand that what you were eating and drinking up to this point was having such a negative impact on your body by suppressing your natural way of being, imagine what the world would be like if we all came to this simple understanding of food and the vice like hold it has over us.
So real and so honest – this blog is a breath of fresh air. And your connection and dedication Paul shines through – the absolute knowing that you have that there is so much more to life than what has been socially and commonly accepted.
Being open to living differently is a huge step in itself that takes courage and a lot of self-honesty. This step is one of many as we walk back to the truth of who we are but are not living.
I agree Rachael. Taking a step like this is very courageous as it requires a willingness to be super honest about looking at the choices we have made in our everyday lives that have led us to a point where we realise that something has to change. I applaud anyone who makes such a committment to themselves as it is not simply for their own benefit, but for the benefit of everyone else as well.
I keep coming back to this blog as it’s so refreshing and real to read. We don’t often see this.
I love coming back to this blog and reading your honest appraisal of your experience at the retreat. Very down to earth and I can feel that you are the real deal.
I just love these final words Paul… ‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth’. I keep reminding myself everyday that the universe, while visible outside me, is actually within me and that this is where my focus must be, because that is where we are actually going back to . . . not forward to some outer destination.
Yes I loved those final words as well Lyndy – such beautiful wisdom to be reminded of.
It is really inspiring that when you were struggling you managed a beach walk and sleep to recharge, and that after that you felt clearer and opened up more to what was on offer. This is so awesome especially doing this at a time when the mind was playing tricks .. very powerful what you did here ⭐️ I would love to hear how it went for you after the retreat.
How powerful are these retreats and workshops!
I have just finished Esoteric Healing Level 2 which is a course I have done before, however this time I felt how incredibly deep it took us into our childhood and exposed for me how I played the victim perfectly so that I could hide away from life in protection with the brilliant excuse of not participating in life because I was a victim of my childhood. I got to understand that I had manipulated my family and life around me from a very young age. This was a stop moment for me. The next feeling was Wow! how powerful am I that at such a young age I was manipulating my family to get my own way. I had never, ever considered this possibility before, all the 20+ years I spent going to see a Psychiatrist and this angle had never been explored. I was told even encouraged to believe I was the victim and my parents and siblings were to mostly to blame. To come to an understanding that I was the one controlling the family has brought another layer of settlement to my body and:
1. Is empowering for me – suddenly my confidence in myself has sky rocketed
2. It takes all the blame from my parents and siblings and I can feel and see them in a completely different way.
3. To me this workshop I attended exposes how Psychiatry did not work for me it encouraged the ‘victim’ mode so it was like having a festering wound with a small plaster over it.
Since completing Esoteric Healing Level 2 I feel content in my body, I’m running on less nervous energy, the festering wound is healing. This shows me I am healing my body and can move on at 61 from my childhood issues… whoopee!
I like coming back to this blog as it’s so refreshing and real. You’re not trying to be anything you’re not. So many people hide or pretend they don’t do things, such as eat certain foods, or watch tv, because they think it’s not the right thing to do. Instead of just being honest where they are at. That’s far more healing and evolving that pretending or living from knowledge or a rule book.
What I love about the Universal Medicine work is how clear and real it all is. How it all makes sense and that you don’t need any scientific ‘evidence’ because it is all available to feel in your body and you can’t deny what you feel. Amazing how simple it can be when we allow it.
So true Natalie, and those that eat properly throughout the retreat and feel into everything get the most out of it..
I agree Shirley-Ann, the retreats to me is my yearly holiday and since the first one I attended, I have gone every year and wouldn’t miss it no matter what. To me, it is an invaluable tool that supports my growth like no other. An investment in me that is always, life changing.
Yes the Retreats are a ‘holiday’ like no other holiday Rosie. the destination is truth and the stars, the company is brotherhood, the financial investment a treasure beyond price and the transformation that occurs simply heavenly. No brochure I have ever seen offers this.
I love your description Lyndy. I always love and welcome the transformation and always feel on top of the moon by the end of every retreat!
Absolutely Rosie – and didn’t have to get into a rocket to get there!
“I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.” Summed up pretty well in this sentence…it is absolutely our choice how we play out our lives and it has to come from within, and it is pretty awesome to be given the proper tools to be the divine person you truly are.
Thank you Paul for sharing your experience here, it is not until we stop and allow the possibility of our way of life being questioned do we first feel the harm we are doing to ourselves.
Your closing sentence says it all. “I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.”
I have found that the retreats I have attend offer an opportunity to really clear the body, of old habits and imprints that do not support it. With this, I can feel sore, uneasy and tired. I am learning that I can surrender to this process and not resist it and this enables it to happen without me getting agitated and emotional. The retreats are big and beautiful and offer us a window into a way of being with one another that is revolutionary. I agree, lovely people to meet and the facilitators are truly inspiring.
So beautiful to read your blog Paul and appreciate all that Universal Medicine offers. My life has changed and I now feel a different person to the one I was a few years ago when I first came across Serge Benhayon – what an awesome Man!
‘…this is just the beginning…’ I love this and love it when I accept and live this humility and ongoing willingness to learn.
A Universal Medicine retreat.. what a wonderful beginning to connect to the divinity we are, truly transformational, if we choose.
Thanks Paul. When you meet truly inspiring people – they stand out. They become inspirations and they show you that perhaps there is a different way to live. Like you – the experience I have had with Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon is pretty amazing. I get more inspired each time I listen to them and I know part of that comes from my own willingness to be open.
This is totally gorgeous- I love the openess you have and your willingness to go there. To let yourself feel and to be a man who is free to make different choices and reflect on life.
It is a lovely blog to come back to remind myself how simple things are and how we have indeed been given all the tools we could ever need.
Paul, this is really gorgeous to read, I love your openness and humbleness. I have found this lately too, ‘I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.’ I noticed yesterday morning that I was feeling great – really vital, clear and joyful, I then ate and I wasn’t really that hungry, I noticed how this instantly dulled me, I felt flat and not my shinny self at all, it was very clear in this moment how dulling overeating can be.
Have you ever seen one of those strange paintings that the eyes follow you? It’s an illusion but effective. I had seen it done with a picture of Jesus when I was young and was intended to make you believe he was always watching you. It was a bit creepy! But, then courses of Serge Benhayon, is like a door that opens within us, that has not been opened for a very long time, but like childhood memories come back to life once again to show us what we have forgotten and we feel it as coming home.
Keep up the good work Paul, as the benefits to your health and well-being will be such a reward, I would hate to see the state of me if I hadn’t stopped beer and pizza all those years ago but also discovering how gentle and tender I naturally am.
Yes this is what blows me away… it is not what I do not do anymore that really inspires me, but all that has emerged as my natural way of being.
Paul I love the immediate recognition of the reason why you were ‘struggling’ at one point in the Retreat.. Once seen (the way you have done) these things can never have full hold over us again. ‘ A bit of a challenge from my normal ways of living. Sitting in the seat my eyes kept closing on me. I definitely struggled but I loved what was presented: all related to why I was struggling in the first place!’
I remember my first Universal Medicine Retreat too Paul, and had a similar experience in that my life totally changed afterwards. And every time I have attended one since, there is a new and much deeper understanding of life, how we as humans interact with it, the universe and beyond. And everytime there is so much more given to us to understand about our place in it all. These retreats are nothing short of phenomenal in relation to the depths of wisdom and love that is shared from Serge Benhayon for all of humanity.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree Shirley-Ann – Esoteric Yoga is a profound and powerful modality that the mind wants to dismiss as it is so simple and something to use in our everyday living way. I absolutely love Esoteric Yoga and over the past few years of attending sessions and presenting it, have found it to be an amazing-new-normal- bridge to return and re-connect to the innate, living stillness within. Pure Gold, delivered straight from Heaven.
The first couple of times that I did the Esoteric Yoga, I found it so hard, so hard because I didn’t know how to be still and be with me in my body. I remember wanting get up and walk out but I stayed with it. These days I love and appreciate the modality, as my body needs that stillness and that connection more than anything and in the past, I can just see how I was avoiding exactly that.
The annual pilgrimage to stay within our-self, which is our Livingness, which means that going to this year’s retreat was a pilgrimaging within and as always a deeply connecting experience.
Too me what Serge Benhayon presents makes so much sense that we have to ask the question
What if the food I eat actually dulls my body down so much that I have little awareness of what is actually going on in life. What if there is an unseen energy suppressing us, encouraging us all to check out on life.
I personally feel this to be true as I wake up to life and become more aware of my surroundings I can feel how asleep I have been in the sense of not fully participating in life it’s a real dulling down of my awareness and I have to say the feeling is horrible. To me Serge Benhayon is waking everyone up to the fact that we have all checked out on life, he’s like the alarm going off to wake us all up again if we chose to that is.
I love this blog. Every time I read it it reminds me that it is easy to stay connected to my body if I want to be. There is so much I can do to support myself.
Your honest and open account will support many others who are or will be in your shoes – taking steps to return and to live our truth as we each are.
I just love reading this blog because it reminds me how amazing the offering of the retreats are. They are so simple yet so profound. We can learn about how food affects the body, how tired we actually are and, let’s be honest, we learn we always have a choice. You could have not got up that morning or gone off to buy coffee and gluten, but you wanted to honour the opportunity you had offered your body. You clearly felt you were worth it and you valued your time. This reminds me to stay with myself in times where I struggle and I thank you so much for that. We are all such important reflections to each other.
I have found the practical tools shared at the Universal Medicine retreats absolutely invaluable in the depth of support and understanding they assist me to bring to my relationships.
One of the teachings of Universal Medicine that I love is that we do not need to look for any thing outside of our self to ‘improve’ our self , that we are simply returning to who we once where, which gives us access to all we need to know.
I would love to have a before and after photo for the retreat of everyone. We would all look so different.
I have often thought of this Fiona, or a before and after photo of a 3 day workshop. I know for me that I change so much during a workshop or retreat, as I open up more and let go of the old layers and hurts that I have taken on.
Especially the eyes, how clear they are..
A good close up of the face .
Yes the eyes tell it all. The clarity and not the usual dark lines or puffiness.
I love your frank down-to-earth honesty, Paul. This blog is very relatable to and whilst amazingly supportive the courses, presentations and retreats of Universal Medicine can be confronting in the way you describe. But once felt in the body, the strong shifts of change can be a great motivating factor to keep going with self-caring choices.
The Universal Medicine Retreats are consistently incredible. A complete re-fresh – they clear the way for life to be lived to the maximum, with so much Love.
Its so interesting to experiment with not giving into to cravings and to feel the drive behind them.
True – its so easy to not question a feeling and to stifle it rather than pause, feel and observe but very well worth doing so, for much can be revealed, understood and healed rather than buried deeper to deal with or not at a later time.
Paul you are such a reminder to us all that all it takes is a willingness to see, be open and anything is possible. That we all have access to the same Divine source and we all know it as this is where we originated from. Returning back to where we come from is a journey that each and everyone of us will take.
It is so simple when we realise that we are returning to what we already know… this dissolves all the grappling and grasping for the one missing piece that somehow eludes us.
The first time I went to a Universal Medicine retreat I did feel very uncomfortable not eating rice too, rice being the staple I have grown up with and something I deeply rely on to numb the sensitivity in feeling. I went to eat rice on the last day of the retreat! I can only say, the resistance towards being me was there and at times strong, especially when I have deeply felt how the depth of my own love, and it is in respecting that yes this is a part of me and honoring what I feel, that has opened up a deeper understanding towards myself, for me to choose whether to go through life in drama or in simplicity.
It was once a normal part of life to regualrly look to increase awareness and understanding, to come together to dicuss and question life. We have lost this ability, which is one of the reasons why I love to attend the Universal Medicine courses, because they offer a constant opportuinity for growth and relearning
It does feel great when you get together, discuss things, workshop them and come to more understanding rather than get together and do the superficial talk on the weather or what was on tv which often leaves you feeling like you missed something. We do, we miss the connection and the awareness and what we can learn from each other when we unite and open up to each other.
I see why esoteric students relate so well with one another, you enjoy learning and growth and expression. Also you are able to feel more and having the modalities there to help compliments everything Serge presents..
What I love is that we inspire each other and support each other, knowing that we are all learning and not perfect.
I agree Rosie, people are often searching for deep, meaningful connections, relationships and friendships – could this be a part of why we have delved so deep into the internet, because it offers a pacifier to that tension of wanting a deeper connection to people in life?
“Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon are truly inspirational people and I am glad I made the decision to do the Universal Medicine Retreat and I know that this is really just the beginning.” – Paul I could not agree more…Serge and Natalie are deeply inspirational people, to the point where each time I see them, It feels like I get presented a new marker, an opportunity to take things deeper to keep growing and never settle for something that is not absolutely complete and true. In effect, I too often feel like things are just at a new beginning again and again – not in the sense that I have gone backwards, but that once I settle into something and feel I have a grasp on it, then I know deep within it is time for another marker, another depth to go to within myself and how this plays out in my everyday life and this often does feel new, a little out of my depth and uncomfortable, but oh boy does it allow my life to change in ways I could never have realised – and this I LOVE!
What you share above Henrietta is evolution, not always comfortable, but always more to unfold, another level of awareness reached and there is no end point or plateaux, “thats it I have got i”. I love when I am challenged or things come up for me to work on because with that there is growth. And then there is another beginning as you say, and new way forward with what we have founded so far.
Thank you Paul for sharing with such honesty. I attended my first Retreat in the UK in 2012 and just about kept up! There were moments when I struggled but it didn’t stop me from attending another Retreat in 2016 and one in 2017.
This blog is enough for anyone to either want to attend one of these events or run a mile! They are most definitely life changing, so it is up to the individual whether they are ready for such change or not.
I love that Rebecca, it’s so true and for those who are willing the transformation is quite something.
“…I started seeing chocolate on all the tables around me, even though there was no chocolate! My mind was playing tricks on me but during the day I managed a beach walk and sleep to recharge, and by the end of it I was feeling clearer and loved opening up more to what was on offer…” It is quite insightful to recognise how strong those mind tricks and cravings are to pull one back into comfort and habits that separate one from their natural essence. Its not until we stop using the comforts that you can see just how much they control, numb and cushion awareness and one’s connection to their inner-most..
I just love how beautifully honest and open you are Paul.
Thank you Paul for a beautiful sharing of your experience at the Retreat, these are life changing events as every student can testify to, if we are open to the truth of who we are as you have done.
It is all about understanding newcomers and where they’re at on their journey… and it sounds like you had great support with that Paul.
‘I loved what Serge Benhayon shared, especially about the stars and the universe and energy. I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.’ Beautifully said Paul. What Serge Benhayon shares makes absolute sense and is so confirming -– its like my body already knows it.
The retreat days are so full and i always feel so held and supported through the discussions and the processing.
Awesome Paul, I too have attended a couple of Universal Medicine retreats and they sure are insightful and what is shared supports us with new levels of awareness. In my eyes this can only be a good thing, learning to see what is truly going on and to be able to connect to our true divine innate being even more.
Cool. I like this… the appreciation of the opening of our eyes to greater awareness of what is going on around us.
What a great testimony for Esoteric Yoga Paul, after doing it for only 5 days at the retreat. I love Esoteric Yoga as it brings me right into my body and I get a true and honest feel of how my body is and how I’ve been living. Sometimes it is very confirming of the stillness I feel inside, and at other times I get to feel how I’ve been too racy.
Falling asleep or shutting my eyes is my spirit’s way of checking out when Serge Benhayon is presenting the truth that my spirit has been denying for life times. To be honest I am learning as a student of myself to understand that it is my way of moving that sets me up such that I am not supporting myself to stay awake. So I will endeavour to bring more conscious presence to everything I do.
I love your honesty Paul and isn’t it interesting in the space that you gave to your self how you noticed the sorts of ‘go to foods’ and drinks that kept you going.
Paul, you sound like a really lovely man with a big heart.
He sure is, and it is awesome to get to know him more and more and share what I have learnt from Universal Medicine events and retreats.
I am so lucky to have had Rosie’s support throughout the retreat, the way our food was, the way she let me sit at the back until I was comfortable, even to share the drive each day.. we as students need to be aware of these things towards any new people coming into the retreats..
Thank you, Paul. An amazing testimony to your openness and willingness to explore and learn. I am really inspired by the simplicity, humility and power of this article.
Chocolate or walk and rest?
We know which one will truly restore us and leave us clear to feel everything yet the mind plays games and taunts us with how and what will numb and suppress what comes up.
Universal Medicine Retreats are an opportunity to step out of day to day life for a few days, but also remain connected to it at the same time. Each retreat supports us reflect on where we are and prepares us, not just to return to everyday life, but continue the journey back to our true and divine selves. Immense gratitude to Serge and Natalie Benhayon for their love and utmost dedication to truth.
‘Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon are truly inspirational people and I am glad I made the decision to do the Universal Medicine Retreat and I know that this is really just the beginning.’ Absolutely Paul. We are soon the threshold of the great Return to Love which will eternally unfold.
In one simple sentence you’ve described the simplicity, inclusiveness and profound effect that Esoteric Yoga offers “The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.”
Dietary changes are never easy at first, primarily because first we have to deal with the physical habit. But once that is dealt with there is then the underlying reason that must be dealt with, for the truth is nearly all human beings eat not so much for sustenance as they do to deal with unresolved emotions. That is the true driving force behind most people’s diets,and explains why it is so difficult to maintain a so called healthy diet.
So true Adam, empowered to be my own scientist & explore what, how and when i eat, i have come to the conclusion that hunger is a grossly misinterpreted word, for I now see it as an inner ache, an emptiness within that is truly nourished by honouring and expressing how I feel.
Adam what you have shared hear is Gold, for most of us eat not to be in divine energy but to dull our ‘unresolved emotions.’
Hello Paul! I was there too but didn’t get to meet you amongst the 300-odd other attendees : )) I too find the Retreats to be a fantastic opportunity for growth and support and Natalie Benhayon and Serge Benhayon to be inspirational. I’ve done one a year since they started and wouldn’t miss this special time-out for the world.
What shines through in all that you write is how very simple life can be, step by step with honesty and curiosity.
“The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it.” Simply and clearly explained Paul. Esoteric Yoga is such a beautiful and accessible modality for aboslutely everyone, and really does offer us an opportunity to reconnect with our body in a way that is nothing short of exquisite.
So true Paul and Sandra, Yoga is a union, and who better to be in union with than our own divine body! It is the true stillness for me that allows the feeling of connection to my body.
An inspirational story that shows how normal and yet completely transformative the Universal Medicine retreats are.
I get what you say about food, I deliberately eat certain foods to fight my awareness – to not feel things.
What Serge Benhayon presents is relevant to everyone who is open to hearing it. What I love about your sharing here Paul is that you walked into a retreat and from it felt the hugeness of who you truly are. Ultimately that’s what brings us back – our essence once all the roles are stripped away.
Thank you Paul for sharing your experience of a Universal Medicine retreat. I love the power in your final words : ‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’
It is quite something Paul to stick with the no gluten, dairy, coffee etc all in one go at the retreat, yet you felt the impact they were having on your body and your expression and gained so much from this, you are inspirational.
Awesome blog Paul thanks for sharing. I remember the struggle I too had when I started to attend Universal Medicine’s presentations, courses and workshops. Coming to realise just how much what we eat and drink can effect the quality of our being and how unsupportive this can be when we choose stuff that is numbing us from who we truly are, precious Divine beings. It is deeply inspiring how Serge and Natalie Benhayon live and that there is in fact another way of living that supports our essence to be.
“Before and After the Universal Medicine Lennox Head Retreat” – life after the Universal Medicine Retreats is never the same as before. I find myself and my body feels completely different, my thoughts and way I move and live life, work, all change …the Retreats re-direct and inspire (me) towards purpose and why they are so life-changing.
‘I loved what Serge Benhayon shared, especially about the stars and the universe and energy.’ I so agree Paul. This was the most spectacular presentation on the constellations ever given. Our lives are forever changed knowing that the constellations are forever emanating the truths of the Ageless wisdom for all to receive..
And in embracing the constellations and their constant relationship with us, I am falling in love with the qualities of humility and responsibility.
We attend courses and expect to hear words of wisdom telling us what to do, and what I love about the Universal Medicine retreats is the way we are encouraged to feel what is true and already there within ourselves.
“Prior to the retreat I was nervous, unsure what was ahead.”.
It is amazing to be honest. I’ve often brushed aside feelings like these. I’ve observed that I often feel nervousness when I am about to learn something in life. Often is has to do with appreciating myself more for the loving man I am. As men we’ve learnt so strictly to not show our vulnerability. We’re not our nervousness or any other feeling or emotion. We tend to bring too much focus to that one expression that ‘bothers’ us. So great to read and feel a man to be so honest.
I can remember my first retreat experience, I found the early mornings tough but by the end I felt more energised and refreshed from a set rhythum that we do often lack in life
Thank you Paul I really appreciate your honesty here.
Awesome read Paul. It can be very confronting when we are surrounded by so much love and joy because it makes us realise how we haven’t chosen that for ourselves nor lived that in our lives… but if we are willing to be honest there is an opening for it to become a part of our lives too.
Yes I remember reacting to how joyful people were when I first went to a course because I was jealous…. yes true. I wanted what they had.
I love what you are sharing here Paul and in particular this line made me laugh: “I definitely struggled but I loved what was presented: all related to why I was struggling in the first place!” How superbly beautiful is that.
The Retreat is such a treat to ourselves Paul, to live for five days with 100% support for our evolution away from the distractions of life, cooking, cleaning and work, and completely immerse ourselves in everything that encourages us to grow. When we return back home, we feel things so differently that lots of things have to change because we have changed.
Paul, its great to hear what you have to say about Esoteric Yoga and when you describe it as “such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.” – It reminds me of what life was like before that was part of my life, I was always on edge and could not still myself or feel at ease, through Esoteric Yoga and many other lifestyle changes, that has completely changed and what I love is when I deepen my connection with me – that is something that the esoteric yoga supports me with.
It’s amazing what the energy that has been running your body will do when it feels it’s comfortable life of ensuring you are as abusive to the body as possible, will go to deny you finding the truth. Nodding off is one of its best tricks when the other options are not available; like the phone, TV, eating and the list goes on. Something made you choose, for whatever reason your mind told you and tried to convince you was some outside purpose. But your body felt the pull to the truth and welcomed you home.
The retreats are without a doubt a most expansive and enhancing experience providing practical “tools to be the true divine person [one is] at birth.
I also love the way Serge shares about the stars – before the Universe was about the science of Astronomy, something for Physics students to know about, but Serge brings them to life, helps us to understand their influence over us, their relevance to us, their importance not as any kind of horror-scope but as simple constellations that all affect us in every moment, not just shining in the sky at night.
“I loved what Serge Benhayon shared, especially about the stars and the universe and energy.” And so we are empowered to participate once again in the perpetual conversation with the Universe via Serge Benhayon’s extraordinary and very grounded presentations, all delivered with a Universal Intelligence that exposes the lies we have accepted as life on this planet. I love how every Retreat begins with the nurturing everyone to recognise God within our selves, but always concludes with connecting us to the bigger picture and our purpose here on Earth, to restore true brotherhood and harmony so that ultimately we can all truly move on.
Yes Rowena, leaving no stone unturned as the saying goes, so we can truly move on!
The Universal Medicine Retreats are completely stunning and it is great to hear what it was like for you Paul and how life-changing it has been. I too have sometimes felt a nervy thing happening before a retreat or course – simply just something coming up to be looked at or cleared – an unease or tension – or even sometimes knowing that my habitual way will be challenged!
“…I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am…” This is a significant realisation to have. Having a few seconds of the ‘ahh’ when you eat something sugary, chocolatey etc, yet it has so much more affect – numbing – in the body. The cravings for it highlight just how much of a ‘drug’ some foods have become.
This is so sweet, thank you for writing this Paul.
As men, we could (should) be deeply inspired by the amazing openness and honesty this man shares. Nearly all – if not all – men can relate to the tendency to pretend that we’re doing fine, if not superb while on the inside we’re in deep misery. Thank you for sharing so honestly.
Floris, it is not just men who pretend that we’re doing fine, if not superb while on the inside we’re in deep misery. Women are experts at hiding behind the mask of I have it all under control and everything is just fine!
‘On arrival I felt the love between the people that knew each other, big warm hugs going down everywhere I looked. I felt comfortable and I sat down and was open to learning more.’ – This sentence says all about you Paul. Beautiful.
“Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon are truly inspirational people and I am glad I made the decision to do the Universal Medicine Retreat and I know that this is really just the beginning.” – It is an amazing gift we can give ourselves to be open to hearing what these two people have to share from their lived experience and understanding of life. I am forever appreciative of the inspiration they offer, but equally so I am forever appreciative of my own openness to embrace what Serge and Natalie have shared over the years, for though not always easy to take on board, they share truths that allow us to grow and come back to the true purpose of why we are here.
Its true Paul, Esoteric Yoga is so powerful, and in its simplicity any ‘doing’ and drive falls away.
Before and After a retreat with Universal Medicine is two different worlds, it is an acceleration into the possibility or potential to live ahead of everything one has lived before, free to choose and make it one´s way of being or not.
We fight and fight the fact that our bodies respond so honestly to foods, our choices and how we live, but imagine if we could eat, drink, smoke and binge excessively WITHOUT this feedback… Would humanity move forward or evolve in any way?
Interesting because a lot of people do in fact live as if there is no feedback, or by taking pills and this or that to be able to deal with the lactose or this or that intollerance.. but the proof is in the pudding… look at the size of people these days. Seats have to be designed bigger, stronger etc to hold the weight…. in hospitals they need lifts to get people in and out of beds.. gone are the days of being able to lift someone! So there are many who get the feedback and override it… but their bodies are still continuing to give more feedback as they grow and grow.
Your openness is inspiring Paul, thank you very much for sharing.
Transparency is our natural way but guardedness, secrecy and deceit have become our normal way.
This is so true Alexis, and how refreshing is it when we are met with transparency, nothing hidden, no surprises just who we are!
Where did these words come from? Transparency feels so natural and the guardedness, secrecy and deceit feel like the lies that keep us from our true connection. Could it be that words come with a reinterpretation of the truth from which they were originally attended and are used to keep us disconnected? Many words feel natural and create a feeling of connection when expressed with true Love, while other words seemingly no matter how they are expressed, create a way of disconnecting!
Paul, this speaks volumes for the integrity and inspiration at the retreats. My partner did exactly as you did – pretty much out of the blue came to his first Universal Medicine retreat, and has never looked back.
The ‘opening up to more’ that you describe here Paul is in my experience the joy of reconnecting to the truth we all innately know. It is as if we have been starved of it for a very long time and as we open up, our bodies and our beingness say ‘ahhh yes, this is the real food of life’ and laps it all up.
Walking through the door is easy and an amazing coming home, as you Paul and many of the people you shared the retreat with have also experienced. Letting go the life, we thought was It, is an unfolding that just expands as we move forward.
Extraordinary isn’t it Steve that we can, as you so rightly say, believe that the life we’re living is ‘it’ and yet over time and with a liberal dose of love and truth we come to realise that not only is it not ‘it’ but that for all intents and purposes it is actually a completely false version of life designed specifically to keep us from accessing the truth of who we are.
It sure does expand as we move forward the key is to keep on moving with the love we know as everything we choose beforehand then will come up to say but hang you used me you can’t just let me go that easily! But when we walk with love we can – it is with this consistency life changes. It comes down to what do we really want out of life – love and truth or simply to get through the day?
‘Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon are truly inspirational people and I am glad I made the decision to do the Universal Medicine Retreat and I know that this is really just the beginning.’ I agree with you Paul. I am so inspired by Natalie and Serge and like you I know that there is a whole lot more to come.
I completely agree Paul & Michelle. They are shining guiding lights inspiring, us ever onwards to discover more.
What you’ve shared Paul is Gold. Even just the awareness you gained from Esoteric Yoga is massive, and something you can use to support you in your everyday.
All of the Universal Medicine retreats I have attended have been super supportive & inspiring in a very practical way.
“…during the day I managed a beach walk and sleep to recharge, and by the end of it I was feeling clearer and loved opening up more to what was on offer” – how gorgeous, it’s amazing and refreshing what a lunchtime sleep can do for over eating [pending how you feel] and how that can change levels of enjoyment and engagement for what is presented during the Retreat.. or even at work too I find!
Thank you for sharing Paul, I love reading about your experience. You have so much to appreciate, not least the fact that you were open to experiencing the retreat and sticking through the temptation to stop; but yes the beautiful and deep love on offer is very difficult to resist after all : ), as it is where we all come from.
Your nose for wisdom is totally awesome Paul! You utterly know the truth and this is proof of it. That you were able to keep going through what was a substantial ‘detox’ and appreciate what was being presented is truly amazing.
It is lovely to feel how fresh your experience is Paul – in terms that you have experienced the retreat and made choices according to what you feel rather than being influenced by the outside world.
It’s a delight to read your journey Paul. I can feel your joy in the re-connection. So simple but so life changing.
“…feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.” –Interesting though that we need proper tools as it requires a particular way of living to be who we are in a world that is not supportive of who we are but mostly opposing it. Quite telling what we have made life to be.
There’s some part of us, that seems to think that ‘progress’ in life is determined by a linear straight line going from ‘ok’ to ‘awesome”, preferably within the space of a day! And when things don’t work out this way we get sad, despondent and give up on what we thought was the way. We’re so ingrained in seeking immediate gratification these days, whether it is in apps or the food we eat. These retreats present something completely different – if we are willing to let go of comfort, be raw, be real – then we truly can start to heal. Congratulations to you Paul for seeing through the temporary difficulty to go deeper with your life.
Thanks for the reference to ‘The willingness to go there’, as that is what is needed to re-connect to what is with-in me fully. Then comes the willingness to be honest about the things I choose that block this connection, whether it be an imaginary table of chocolate, or the ‘fond memory of just tasting one, it is still all the same distraction.
Thank you Paul. Such a great, refreshingly honest blog and I have to say even though I have been to a few retreats I can still feel nervous and unsure before I go for each time is quite different yet always asks us to surrender more deeply into who we truly are.
The cravings you had for chocolate, for instance, to the extent of seeing it on the tables when it wasn’t, shows how chocolate is not a good food but more a drug. Food is there to nourish the body and never would it have hallucinations for normal food in this way (whilst not being starved).
A retreat can be quite confronting for the long term student let alone someone who is new to the work; your overall attitude is very inspirational. I loved what you shared about you knowing that you have been given the tools to re-connect to your divinity and it is entirely up to you whether you use them or not.
I keep coming back to this blog, because I love your honesty Paul. It’s very rare in this world. Many of us think we are being honest, but we are lying to ourselves and others all the time or trying to hide things. Like for example what we eat because we are following a rule book in how to be good – instead of listening to our body and not caring what anyone else thinks.
This is a beautiful blog Paul, enjoy your journey within.
Paul, this is a beautiful blog and very confirming for us all. There is always another point to unfold to, sometimes this can be easy and sometimes this can be a challenge. Going through the tricky bits as you described can be made easier when the commitment is there to see it through…when we feel the actual changes in the body by feeling lighter and more ourselves the motivation to keep going is there. Then the double motivation kicks in, in the knowing of how supporting ourselves truly supports another.
How very beautiful and inspiring to read Paul. I love your openness, honesty and words of appreciation for Serge Benhayon, Natalie Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
Gosh, I remember my first retreat….a shocking headache throughout the week that cleared as I danced away at the celebration evening. Vivid dreams, challenging workshops and trying not to nod off during the yoga. Everything presented exposed the false life I had been running and it made sense I was exhausted from it. Yet regardless, I loved every minute…finally, here was the truth I’d been seeking for so long. My body felt so light at the end of the week that saying no to dairy and gluten was a no brainer. Afterwards, my quality of sleep improved out of sight and I had energy to burn. Returning for the next seven Retreats has just unfolded more of me back to me….God’s gift. Thank God, too for Serge, the Benhayon family and all the team at Universal Medicine. Where would I be without them? Struggling to make sense of life, that’s where!
‘My mind was playing tricks on me but during the day I managed a beach walk and sleep to recharge, and by the end of it I was feeling clearer and loved opening up more to what was on offer.’ – This is key, you were being played but you did not give in to it, you made a conscious choice. You chose Love.
I can remember my first retreat, when the 5 days of solidly being held in a new routine was so amazing because for a snap shot of time I was held up above and away from all the usual patterns of eating and sleeping that i knew didn’t work but struggled to kick, giving me the space to actually feel what a supportive and spacious routine could be like and from there chose how to re-imprint how i lived back at home.
It is so gorgeous to read your journey of openness and unfolding Paul. The head may not always understand but the body knows the Truth of what is presented because we come back to the Truth that is within our divine selves.
Brilliant Paul , that to me sounds like a miracle of how quick we can choose to live our divine being when we got the proper tools .. As to let out the divinity we are born with.
What a beautiful sharing and amazing opening up to all presented to you “. On arrival I felt the love between the people that knew each other, big warm hugs going down everywhere I looked. I felt comfortable and I sat down and was open to learning more.” This is something to really appreciate as the world is not always like this . The sense of coming home together and warmth is every increasing as we open up and allow the love in our bodies to emanate and glow and the changes we make to really be felt.
The openness and honesty with which you both approach and share your experiences is very refreshing Paul. In a world where we place so much importance on ‘evidence based practice’ remaining open to exploring new choices is crucial – otherwise it seems to me we will just go around in circles.
Congratulations Paul, you did really well not allowing yourself to reach for the chocolate or the coffee, even though they weren’t there you could have gone and indulged yourself. Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon deliver exactly what we need to truly understand what’s going on and what is available to us to make it easier for us to understand too.
Isn’t it fascinating that the one thing we’re craving, we’re actually suppressing in the multiple ways we can do so… Love starts within, intimacy is built from this connection within. With ourselves and secondly with others too. Universal Medicine definitely leads the way in explaining what it means on a temporal, earthly base what it means to be an energetic being.
“I definitely struggled but I loved what was presented: all related to why I was struggling in the first place!” Everything presented at these Retreats makes absolute sense of why we find life so difficult. Serge Benhayon is a master at exposing all our self-invented obstacles that lie between us and our divinity, empowering us to make uplifting choices that help us out of the struggle and back onto the path of self initiation.
The language of Universal Medicine is truth and love, this speaks to all equally.
What a great raw and real blog! I found the irony of being a postie for delivering messages and never reading any of them and having the door opened but never stepping through it. Could it be, that one small choice of stepping through the open door and reading the massage, is all we have ever needed?
“Before and After the Universal Medicine Lennox Head Retreat” – the before and afters of a Universal Medicine retreat are always marked.. you maybe don’t think things are changing whilst there, though afterwards and especially (I find) on the final day and when you get back home, find that everything has shifted, and feel how much you’ve shifted, what might be a millimetre is in fact a mile…and what is a mile is in fact a league.
So true Zofia. And what might be a flippant uncaring behaviour which you ignored as insignificant, now looms brightly as the very significant choice that it is: an unloving cap to the expression of the love and glory that is within you.
Really enjoyed your blog Paul, it’s the second time l’ve read it… just love the honesty and realness you bring to it, and the fact you are finding your own way with what is presented.
These retreats are an opportunity to experience living, eating, speaking and moving with awareness. They are a beautiful gathering of like-minded people who are open to learning with each other, with no comparison, no competition, just a very simple sharing of who we truly are. Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon are inspiring presenters and the Esoteric Yoga sessions run by Marcia Owen and Vicky Geary are lovely to participate in.
I too absolutely love it when Serge talks about the stars and the universe, I know that these are the types of stories I would have absolutely adored when I was growing up – what better bedtime exchanges than ones about the universe and all that is.
I agree Rosanna. It beats me why we assume children would prefer made up stories and games to confirming conversations about the essence of life and the universe which they are likely to be sensing deep within anyway. I would have loved learning as a child what Serge Benhayon is sharing with the world today, just as much as I am loving it now.
This is gorgeous a beautiful account of how a journey back to love can begin. It is our true nature to come back eventually, it is our choice when.
It is always very humbling to read about each person’s experience. Thank you for your openness Paul. I will never forget the first time I did group work at a retreat and how much I have learnt from all those opportunities.
Thank you, an awesome expression Paul, it is amazing what happens when we truly start to take care of and appreciate ourselves and who we truly are.
So beautiful to feel that this journey does come within and we can return to our divinity at any age.
It is really telling when we can sense the truth of something and love it, yet we can struggle, fall asleep and at times even be plagued with sabotaging thoughts and behaviours it seems despite of ourself. When that happens I know I have had a long run living in the way that does not support me and I am feeling the momentum of that as my ship is trying to turn round.
I love how the retreats give you a chance to take some time out from our routines and shake it all u a little. Look at what we rely on to get through the day and play with the possibility that they may be more supportive to stay connected.
What a refreshing read, your honesty and openness to learning about life is super cool.
‘I loved what Serge Benhayon shared, especially about the stars and the universe and energy.’ – The enormity of what Serge Benhayon shares with us all is amazing beyond comprehension.
Universal Medicine present to whole packages.. on whatever the topic or dillema, including the many ways the same dynamics can play out and the tools required to bring correction.
Paul, you say, ‘Prior to the retreat I was nervous, unsure what was ahead’. I’ve been doing courses for 7 years and I still find I can feel like this because Serge is constantly inspiring us to expand to the next level and our self can feel a resistance to this because it knows that it will have to give up some comforts and it’s attachment to being an individual.
I love the simplicity and truth of this blog. You can tell that what you’ve written is true you’re not tying to prove, get recognition, outdo, or impress anybody. It just simple, honest, refreshing and real.
I came back last week from the UK Universal Medicine retreat and I struggled also in the first few days as an imbalance I had created in my life was the reflection. After the retreat I struggled a little also, and now that I have corrected this imbalance I am thankful for the awareness because if I allowed this to continue it could have brought me to an unpleasant place. Plus with this now cleared, I have so much more purpose in my life and a deeper commitment to work and bringing all I have to bring to this world.
Wow I just love, love this blog Paul! It just shows that no matter how we have been living, the pull of love is always there asking us to be more. I also love the simplicity and honesty in how you share. Thank you Paul.
and that pull of love simply asks us to be more of who we are – it is not a perscription of rules, regulation and subscription to how you should be, it is simply a calling out of all that you already are and in the process we often find we begin to discard all that gets in the way naturally.
The transformations that I have witnessed in all those who attend these events, including myself, are beyond all comprehension. Anyone searching for true self help need look no further than a Universal Medicine Retreat in order to get to know your self from the inside out, appreciate your innately divine qualities and transmute your way of life from the ground up.
Rowena your use of the word ‘true’ when using the term ‘self help’ is crucial, as there are so many self help strategies that not only don’t help but actively keep a person from healing by adding even more prana ( the energy that we have to remove in order to heal) to a person’s body.
Paul, great to connect with you in this way. Not only did you attend the Unimed Lennox Retreat and did not give up, you were inspired to write about your experience honestly and clearly. No matter our background or state of health, when truth is presented and we’re ready, it makes perfect sense.
I have been to a few retreats, and each one builds on the last. But, it is a journey that anyone can get on the bus at any time and not miss what has been before. Are we all not waiting for the bus, we just don’t realise where it is we are sometimes going. It is great to hear your experience Paul, of getting on the bus, your adventure has started.
I am bus-ting to hear more Steve, and I agree this bus keeps on circling the globe taking all who seek the truth.
Like so many of us Paul it sounds like you are at the start of an amazing ride that will bring you joy that you won’t have thought possible. I used to love beer, pizza as well but it is now a long time since I have had either and I feel great for it. I still have a long way to go in getting it right all the time though with what I choose to eat etc but I know for sure I would either be a very ill person or perhaps even dead if I had not come across The Way of The Livingness.
‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’ Paul, your blog is a gorgeous reflection of how instantly our ‘journey’ can begin when we ready and open to the support that is all around to help us get there.
“I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am” – it’s amazing when this realisation occurs.. and the (new or revised) choices that follow thereafter, awesome Paul.
Wow Paul it’s inspiring and simply gorgeous to hear how you have been willing to re-connect to “the true divine person you were at birth” and is it possible you were also actually re-connecting back to an inner knowing and therefore although at times there was the tug for chocolate etc. you were able to say no to it and therefore yes to the divine person that you naturally are. I love your honest and open expression too.
I was struggling to keep my eyes open, and loved what I was hearing about the constellations.
I walked up to buy some chocolate, and realised it was incense .. I then helped set up the nuts and apples which helped me get back on track.
I love this ‘Before and After’ Paul. And your divine after will unfold unceasingly in all its beauty and glory. Yay!
Hi Paul, I love the way you jumped straight in to a retreat – pretty daunting for many but an indication of your openness and willingness to go there.
For much of my life I used adrenalin and stimulation to get through the day, needing coffee and sugar. As the day progressed I needed other measures to handle my emotions like eating too much or a drink in the evening. Moving from that rhythm to one without stimulation and heaviness took a while.
Its incredible how our minds can play tricks on us – like seeing chocolate when its not there, and yet if we follow the impulses of our bodies as you did Paul, by beach walking and sleeping, we release the hold our minds have over us… and as you found… “by the end of it I was feeling clearer and loved opening up more to what was on offer.” Our minds lock us into ideals and beliefs and pictures, whereas when we truly connect to our bodies there is more space and expansion for more.
It’s so true that stepping into any presentation by Serge Benhayon or Natalie Benhayon can bring with it quite the challenge! But what you inspire Paul is that it’s just a choice and then a series of choices thereafter as to where we want to go within ourselves, keeping it simple, keeping it real, knowing we are life-long students with ourselves and with an honouring of whatever feels true and right for us.
We are as divine as we were at birth – it’s just all the layers we put on top to cover this divine essence so as to not stir reaction in others who have also chosen to hide the fact of their divinity.
Universal Medicine provides us with simple tools to enable us to get back into our bodies and to know life from our bodies first and foremost. The Esoteric Yoga brings us back to an inner stillness that provides us with an internal observation platform from which to view life and refine the quality of our choices, which in turn keeps feeding the stillness, thus our observation and awareness continues to expand.
I’m inspired by your simple choices to move through the struggle that you felt and to find support in the tools you found available to you.
We can become so stuck in our choices that it can seem very difficult to get out. Many people are stuck in choosing caffeine, chocolate, sugar, alcohol etc.. to get through life and to keep them awake. Universal Medicine is supporting people to see that there is another way that you can re-charge (like you did with a beach walk and a sleep) and more importantly, supporting you to look at how you are living that means you need the caffeine, chocolate etc… That is where true and lasting change can occur.
That is indeed the simple magic of all this. That we are supported to return to who we are at birth. I watch my 10 month old not hold back – she is a joy and an inspiration and it makes me appreciate all the things we call in to not be in this joy all of the time.
Esoteric Yoga is indeed something that everybody can do! Incredible how powerful it is to simply focus and be with our bodies. In fact a return to our body. To me this shows how much we lose the connection in our day-to-day life. Thank you Serge Benhayon and all the practitioners who teach Esoteric Yoga for allowing over and over again to connect to my body. Even though my mind still often tries to make me run a million miles.
‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’ – The journey home – I can relate to this.
‘be supported with the right foods to keep me on track for the week’ – It seems like a simple thing, but how amazing is it that food and our diet can actually support us massively in what we do, as opposed to poison, exhaust or make us feel bloated etc… Something we use so often to abuse our bodies can be a huge aid.
Re-reading your blog Paul, brought some tears and giggles up – giggles at the chocolate appearing everywhere and tears at the openness and humility with which you have shared yourself. Big huge thank you for the inspiration.
It would be very interesting to know what your next step is Paul now. We all have the opportunity to embrace more, expand and grow and it is our choice whether to delay or go for it.
Paul, your experience is testament of the divine within you and the fact that this knowing is never far from us.
It was lovely to read this blog by someone attending a Universal Medicine retreat for the first time and reading through his fresh eyes. The issues that came up were a great example of how the retreat shows us, (no matter how many retreats or courses we have attended) what we use to keep ourselves dull and less than who we are. It doesn’t matter if its food, relationships, intellect, hobbies etc, it is all there to be felt. Thanks so much for sharing Paul.
This is truly gorgeous. What a powerful way to start to your journey back to you.. and how awesome that you have been so inspired by the experience that you felt to share like you have so openly and honestly. An absolute pleasure to read and be blessed by.
Yes I agree, Paul. Esoteric Yoga is incredibly simple and yet I have never found anything as powerful in bringing me back into connection with my body, a relationship which is continually deepening.
I have attended a couple of Universal Medicine retreats and they are amazing, I have felt my body really going through changes as well, tiredness, sometimes, aches, stiffness, it is like I have a clear a whole lot out of my body, which is not necessary, the yoga really supports this and as you said a walk and a sleep in between workshops. Serge and Natalie Benhayon are amazing people, honest, real and so loving and inspiring to see them walk thier talk.
It is truly amazing when we have those moments in our life when we suddenly get insight into why things seem to be such a struggle and why we do certain things.
“The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.” same here Paul, I love Esoteric Yoga, its amazingly powerful and yet so simple. In a world where we are always on the go, i find such strength in re-connecting and deepening that foundation from which I live my day from.
It’s beautiful to read about your experience, Paul. For me, I have found Universal Medicine retreats and workshops life changing. There is no arrival point, or end goal as the learning deepens at every turn…. sometimes tough through resistance and reluctance to take the next step, but always there is a joy underneath of knowing of being back on track and looking at what is there to be dealt with.
Universal Medicine has a magnetic pull that we can deny initially and use the guise that its something else, like a holiday or making a partner happy. But, from the feeling that is felt when we arrive, there is no hidden agendas! There is just openness between everyone, who you are and what you do is not required, just being yourself is all that is needed. The openness then offers you the question of how am I living my life? Serge Benhayon is showing us all what we are all capable of choosing, and gives us a reflection to ponder on!
Awesome beyond measure to hear how much you got from experiencing the Universal Medicine retreat Paul. Your last line has brought tears – of shared joy with you, and with the many (myself included) who have been so blessed to be reminded that yes, it is all ‘from within’ and that oh my Lord yes, we are most definitely divine.
Thank-you.
Paul the fact that you felt comfortable when you saw everybody hugging is testament to you, there are many many people who would have left at that point. But the truth is, if we don’t feel like hugging others then we are bringing in opposition to the love that is naturally inside us.
Hi everyone , Thankyou all for sharing back to me , I was amazed and teary eyed at the same time ..
I noticed a lot of you spoke of honesty and I think it is so important when dealing with your true self.
I realise now how it is a journey letting go of those bad habits and addictions , what I have noticed that by eating better , doing the yoga and some healing ( chakra puncture, massage or a session) as well as connecting with mother nature (stars, moon sunset or sunrise) that when I do have a beer , chocolate or coffee I can feel in my body it doesn’t like it..
One thing I am excited about is expression , I have never really been able to express properly , I can see now with your help I can speak out !
Your expression is beautiful Paul, keep letting it out.. Feel and appreciate how your expression in this blog alone has touched so many people.
What you have shared is amazing Paul, as we will all get to a place where we feel more from our bodies, because it is up each person to make a choice to continue on the same path or to start to be responsible for their daily choices. As we become more honest with what is felt it becomes simpler to feel that there are certain energies, which hook us and thus become a part of our daily lives so we then accept these as normal despite the affect these foods, music, drinks, words, and even walking in contraction etc. all have on on our bodies with the adverse effect as you describe Paul. I have found each new point a healing and a stepping stone on the path of return to the ‘true self.’
It could also be testament to the way people hug – there are other groups who hug a lot but those hugs sometimes have felt a little strange in my experience though not all of the time.
I so agree Paul that Esoteric Yoga is a huge support in life whether at a Retreat or at work. I have found it completely awesome enabling me keep focused on who I truly am, and not getting lost in the millions of wayward thoughts that pass through our beings every moment. That moment to stop and surrender to stillness and feel what is happening in the body is pure gold.
Thank you Paul for your honest sharing of your first ever Retreat with Universal Medicine. What an inspiration for us all.
Amazing blog Paul. “I realise this journey comes from within” – this is a cruncher for me, no matter how many times I want someone else to fix it or do it for me it always comes back to this!!
I love the simple honesty in your expression of where you are at and what you have experienced – so real and tangible for everyone to share.
What Serge Benhayon presented on the ‘stars’ or actually the constellations was life changing, to say the least, and that was only one part of an amazing retreat! The realness of what you have shared Paul should be what is openly shared by everyone, and with more blogs like yours, I am sure people will listen to the honesty that is presented.
I was thinking this too Greg, it is great when we share openly and honestly because as you can see from the comments, so many can relate and we all have amazing pearls of wisdom to share.
So true Rosie, transparency is one of the keys to divine wisdom, which then brings in the amazing pearls of wisdom as you have shared.
Nothing to hide, all to be shared and equal for everyone. Transparency is the way.
As we become humbly aware of the truth that is available through Universal Medicine retreats we all get the blessing of learning transparency, so it is as you say Rosie, we have nothing to hide.
I don’t want to hide anything, in fact I want to share it all because I so appreciate what I have learnt from Universal Medicine and how much it has supported my and friends and family. Life changing miracles and more. Whoop whoop!
So true Rosie, this transmogrification happens and it is supportive in every area of our life. HE! He!
It is a beautiful thing to read about you and your personal journey which is so sweet and simple; you are an offering to what is more about us all.
So true Jane. The honesty, openess and genuiness shines out.
As you say, Paul, to be “the true person I was at birth” is a journey within oneself and therefore the answers to do so are not found looking outside of oneself.
How amazing are the changes that can take place when we are open to hearing something new, or in reality, returning to what we already know.
Paul, I remember my first retreat and I was like a rabbit in the headlights at first but I came away from it with a clarity about my life and situations that I hadn’t had prior to it. It was like a veil had been lifted off me. Each year I attend the Universal Medicine retreat and I come away with a whole new level of awareness about myself and how I live, relate with others and love myself and others. It can be confronting but it is so worth it to feel more of my true self.
“I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.” This is the main product of the Universal Medicine Retreats, greater self-awareness of who we really are and how much we suppress our loveliness by the way we have been choosing to live.
We’re so tricked and manipulated by our mind to seek relief and separation from the one thing we’re (and it – the mind, is) actually seeking: love. We’re incredibly powerful, just look at the above examples here. In everyday life most of the people would give in and just take the biscuit, chocolate, coffee, beer etc. We call that normal, yet the opposite is actually true. Why not raise the bar and call these choices for what they are: abuse of ourselves, of our own body. If we would get a clear note on this, all together, we would start restoring a one unified truth in this world. Rather than 6 billion truths. Anybody up for this? I am.
We are all already part of the everything and nothing can change this fact, however the mind has a field day with distracting us from registering this immutable fact in our bodies.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience Paul, it is very honest and humbling and a great reminder that we are all students of life, and it feels just awesome once we start to connect to who we truly are.
Loved to have been there hearing about the universe, the stars and energy.
An inspiration to all Paul, and all stemming from your openness to the possibility that life as we know it is not IT.
Michael not only is the life that we know not ‘it’, but it actively takes us away from the life that we all deep down know to be true. We have to mechanically choose to not succumb to the endless distractions and pot holes that life offers in order to return to the One Life that sits eternally under the false lights of illusion.
When we have given up something, like coffee or chocolate, and we have an urge to have some we have a moment of choice, to have it or not. We always feel the benefit when we choose a healthier substitute and then it gets easier and easier each time. But at times we do slip up and so be it.
Yes we do slip up. I did exactly that yesterday and then felt the after effects almost immediately… and, so be it… at times I am a slow learner or I think I have to keep trying the lesson again and again and again!
‘My mind was playing tricks on me but during the day I managed a beach walk and sleep to recharge, and by the end of it I was feeling clearer and loved opening up more to what was on offer.’ – This is amazingly well described Paul, we are indeed being played and our mind is an easy target – the key is to be aware of it and not allow it to take over run the show.
‘To be honest I struggled for the first two days . . . no caffeine, chocolate, dairy or gluten to keep me going. A bit of a challenge from my normal ways of living.’ I love the fact that you tried this cold turkey! When I changed my diet and went gluten and dairy free I began slowly and worked my way up. To be honest, given there were so many gluten and dairy free substitutes about this wasn’t too hard, but over time my body told me that it it didn’t really want those either by which time it was very easy to say no to them. What I found the most challenging to crack was the sugar.. this took me a number of years but my body is so clear of it now that I get no sugar cravings at all! Given I was such a chocaholic and sugar addict this is a minor miracle!
It is a minor miracle when you can think back to how chocolate or certain foods were an every day event and how if you were asked back then, you would say you wouldn’t be able to live without it. It just goes to show that we can change, even the deepest ingrained habits, when we feel it is time.
Fabulously honest, raw and straight up! Like a cool breeze … a refreshing read Paul, thank you for sharing
Such a beautiful, honest sharing. Very lovely. Thank you Paul. And – loved meeting you and see the transformation in you too in those days 🙂
Love this blog – the Universal Medicine is not quite your most traditional date, but it is certainly worth going to. I know that this event and many more hosted by Universal Medicine have totally transformed my relationships with family, friends and people in general so that they are so much more loving and open than ever before.
Wow… an amazing blog Paul – so refreshingly real, honest and up front. Will be great to read more as your inner journey unfolds!
Great share Paul, I am not sure there are many people who have done the Universal Medicine retreats and regretted it, and certainly if you give it your all, your best shot, what you get out of it is always life changing.
I love what you shared Paul so lovely to feel how amazing life can be – without needing anything – and just being able to sit with the stars and ‘be’ – magnificent.
This is simply gorgeous, Paul. I had a huge smile on my face the whole time I was reading it. I loved your honesty and how you expressed, especially the chocolate on the table bit! You are truly divine, and I very much look forward to meeting you one day.
I love the simplicity of Esoteric Yoga too Paul. I have resisted yoga in the past but this is so very easy to do and bring into everyday life, especially when we need to reconnect to our bodies. Great sharing, thank you.
In the last three months, you have been understanding and feeling something different through your girlfriend Rosie. It feels you have such an opportunity to embrace this Paul, especially after the blessing you chose to give yourself of the Retreat.
That is pretty amazing to do a retreat when you chose to basically do a detox at the same time! No wonder you were seeing chocolate! It is really lovely to read your experience of the people and the Gold that was shared, see you next time! ?
It is inspiring to read Paul, that you kept going through the Retreat, even though you were feeling withdrawal symptoms from not eating your usual diet and getting up much earlier than you are used to. It is amazing how quickly our body adjusts when we consistently offer it something different, and how beautifully it responds when it feels so supported.
Yes, Paul. Universal Medicine is not trying to tell you something you don’t already know, so it is wonderful to hear that you were able in those few days to re-connect to the fact that you are and have always been divine.
‘The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it.’ Love this, so true, Esoteric Yoga excludes no one. It is super simple and anyone can do it. For me, I have moments in my day when I change my movements to be far more present with them and it helps me to reconnect back to me.
So great that you pushed on through and didn’t give up on the third day, I know what it’s like being out of your comfort zone when the body, or should I say the mind, is saying you need coffee, chocolate etc, but the rewards of staying will be immeasurable.
We may wonder what other tricks our mind is playing us when already not having one´s daily chocolate can make us see things that don´t exist.
Thank you for sharing with such honesty and transparency. Super powerful, inspiring and evolutionary to all those who read it.
I have been to quite a few Universal Medicine Retreats now and each one is absolutely life changing and what I love about them is each person comes away with what they need to take the next step in deepening their journey back to Soul, as you have shown in your gorgeously honest blog Paul.
Amazing blog Paul, the honest account of your experience with A Universal Medicine retreat is great and real. A retreat that may not be for everyone, for example the food choices the daily schedule and the mental processing.. but definitely worthwhile when we see and feel the clearing or openness within ourselves and can connect with the wisdom that is shared.
I agree Paul that Esoteric Yoga offers a simple, powerful and solid foundation for re-connecting to our body and the innate stillness within – purposefully offered as an important part of all three Universal Medicine Retreats (Vietnam, Lennox Head & UK).
“The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards”.
It is amazing the clarity and love you felt after the retreat. I too have experienced the same and every time I attend Universal Medicine events I deeply appreciate the love that is present. It is so supportive and I get a healing from just being there because my body is able to simply surrender and trust. It is incredible to be in a space of absolute love.
Paul, this is amazing, ‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’ The Universal Medicine retreats and workshops truly are life changing!
The number of men that have been cajoled by a partner to attend a Universal Medicine event and or a retreat believing they were having a holiday only to come away questioning the excuse they have been calling life. There are no accidents in life why things happen; there are just choices that lead us to where we need to be.
Yes I admit, I did really want Paul to come, and I did warn him a little bit that it would not really be a holiday…and it was interesting how life threw a few reasons up on why he should not come along the way…. but even with those obstacles thrown at him, he still came and that is what I celebrated.
Wow the power and simplicity of this blog has brought tears to my eyes.
Universal Medicine sure does give people the proper tools to be the divine person they were at birth.
Paul I love what you have shared because it is so honest . . . you are so inspirational.
Thrown in at the deep end Paul and came up shining. Beautiful
Dear Paul, thank you for writing with such absolute honesty – this is what makes people and writing very real and relatable.
Yes very true Gyl, we are so good at hiding our struggles and imperfections but we become almost robots saying ‘I am good’ without meaning it. There is nothing wrong with having things come up and sharing them can support others and ourselves.
This blog is so open and honest. No matter how often I did the retreat it is every time a new challenge and eye opener. Thank you Paul.
I love what you’ve shared Paul… super honest and down to earth but particularly the fact you have not made Serge Benhayon or Natalie Benhayon, the guru, but rather committed to yourself and your own unfolding; inspired by them for sure, but not giving your power away to either.
Very cool what you have experienced Paul, I remembered sneaking out from my first Universal Medicine Vietnam retreat to have a bowl of rice with soya sauce on the last day! I realised that there is a part of me that wants to rebel or disobey towards simply the natural order and movement of what is divine, but by being aware of this and still absolutely accepting myself, and that I do not need to be perfect, has been the greatest tool ever to keep coming back to myself, to the retreats and to truth.
Thanks Paul, my favourite part of the whole retreat was learning more about the stars and the universe. It’s amazing what that activates in our bodies as we all know it somewhere within. Great sharing, and thank you for making me smile about your chocolate hallucinations.
What an amazing blog!
“The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards ” – agree Paul, i completely adore Esoteric Yoga, and as someone who previously lived totally busy inside the head/mind, this modality has been super in supporting me to come back down into my body and experience the gorgeous quality of stillness over prior anxiousness. I cannot rate it highly enough.
It is amazing how eliminating a few things from our life and diet can make us feel so much clearer. This also exposes how so called innocent things such as chocolate have an affect on our well-being and create an addiction.
It is easy when our way of living is exposed to get angry with the presenter, or angry with ourselves, feeling as if we’ve been told off for being naughty just like we were at school, but when we let go of our preconceptions and open up in the way you have, Paul, we can feel the absolute love with which Serge Benhayon presents everything, and know that we can have that same absolute love for ourselves.
When I went to my first few courses, I wasn’t mad at the presenter, I was mad, absolutely furious really at my friend for taking me there!! I remember it very clearly, and expressing this to her because at that time, I didn’t want to be responsible, I didn’t want to know because then I would have to do something about it so I had a tantrum about it… and now I look back and great-fully thank my dear friend for holding me in the love and giving me time while I sorted my self out.
What courage to keep on through the Retreat through all that was coming up Paul – truly the labours of Hercules! You will be delivering love-letters daily on your rounds now.
“I sat down and was open to learning more”…this is all it takes. Just being open and a willingness to hear what is being presented. It is then entirely up to you whether or not you agree/disagree but being open is the key.
I remember Serge once presenting on Reincarnation, and he asked us to put aside our pre-conceived ideas, and just be open to what he was going to present. He was not asking us to believe/agree in what he was going to present, but just be open to hearing it. So I did that, and what he presented made so much sense and I took it on board. But that was my decision to do that. And it started from being open. Miracles can happen when we do that.
Yes, Sarah. Being open is key, because it provides the space for us to feel the fact that we already know the truth.
We all know it, but for some of us… we take the long way, resisting, playing dumb as I have many times… to avoid the fact that I already know and can feel it…. and yet when I surrender and go with what feel right I wonder why I fought for so long.
I know in myself that there are many things that I am not open to. I can often feel in myself, when in discussion with another that I have already made my mind up and can also feel how I am engineering things to suit my argument. How different would life be if we could all stay genuinely open to each other but I have learnt that that is not truly possible because the way that we move has already determined our speech and thoughts, and so we are kidding ourselves if we think we’re truly open to new ideas.
Paul, having just re-read your blog it really hit me just how astounding you are. Not only were you incredibly open to what was being offered at the retreat but you were putting your hand up for more and more you got. Your insight into yourself and all of us is truly inspiring, as is your resolve to stick with it, despite the very real challenge of not having your usual pseudo support through your usual foods and drinks. Amazing stuff!
thanks Paul – gritty and real – and most important of all, honest to the core.
Yes, very impressive.
What a great story to share here Paul, I loved reading about how you felt at different stages of the retreat, I know in the past too that day 3 is often the one that brings up a lot. Amazing from start to finish.
A beautiful sharing Paul. There is no surprise that this has been your experience as your honesty and openness to what was there is clear. The body knows what is true and so the moment you felt this the choice was made. Inspirational – thank you
I love your honesty and your persistence in continuing to be aware of what was going on for you Paul. Many of us struggle with the same issues, especially around chocolate and going to sleep when something is particularly challenging. This is what it is about — learning to know ourselves so that we can the make more loving choices for ourselves based on the kind of experiences you had when meeting the esoteric work. And the relationship with our bodies is where we find the truth, they inform us loudly and clearly.
I adore the honesty Paul! The rawness and realness of this blog to me is an absolute relieve to me. It shows me a different way of simply being yourself in the world. I’m sure many, many many people can relate to what you’re sharing. I certainly can! Thank you very much.
I love the honesty and realness in which you have shared this, simply admitting that you did struggle at the beginning of the retreat, yet despite this you stayed open to what was being presented as opposed to dismissing it or checking out. Truly inspiring.
Your account of your first Universal Medicine retreat experience Paul is so refreshing, real and full of realisations that I know will stay with you as what comes next unfolds. Even though it was challenging at times I can feel your steadiness which I am sure comes from the fact that finally you have given yourself the opportunity to re-connect with you “true divine person I was at birth”. Very inspirational indeed!
Awesome to feel how the Ageless Wisdom is always there waiting to be re-connected to.
This is awesome Paul; opening up to this life long learning program and discovering what supports us, what we’re made up of, makes us feel this way, that way, great, awful, tired, amazing and so forth brings purpose to everything, and life then becomes an incredibly interesting activity!
Delightful reading the lightness with which you describe your anxiousness, your desire to eat what would dull your awareness, and the thought to stay in bed and forego attending the workshop you were in the middle of. It all shows how you and your dedication to purpose are so much more.
I find it so refreshing to hear someone being honest. This is very rare in our world today.
Seriously amazing Paul, I love your openness and willingness to be there and see how it felt for you and to stick with it, and the understanding you came to applies to all of us, that we have all been eating and living in a way that suppresses and compresses us rather than supporting and being the divinity we are – awesome insight and a great reminder that no matter what we are divine.
Thanks, Paul. I love how you have been able to expose the things you have done or used in the past to dull your light without self-flagellation but simply an openness to feeling a deeper level of truth.
This is extraordinary Paul – thank you very much for sharing with all.
Great blog Paul, your upfront honesty is very refreshing. I met you at the retreat and felt what a gorgeous man you are and now reading this blog confirms this even more.
We all have to start somewhere. And, the point is that it does not matter where we are or where we come from. All it matters is where we are going. And, this is just pure beauty.
Super refreshing to hear it as it was Paul.
‘I loved what was presented: all related to why I was struggling in the first place!’ Wow Paul, I so enjoyed reading your blog, very refreshing and honest. It’s great that you were so open to receiving what was presented and it’s true that we struggle because we are not being who we truly are. It’s incredible how we use so much energy to not be that whereas we could just simply let go and be ‘ the true divine person I was at birth.’
‘On arrival I felt the love between the people that knew each other, big warm hugs going down everywhere I looked.’ One of the things I love the most about the esoteric community is that we feel like one big family, but this is something that is carried over into the rest of our lives with all the people who are in it. The warmth and support that is offered together has now become my new normal, but when I stop to reflect on this, as you have offered the opportunity to do so Paul, I can see how extraordinary it is as I have found no where else quite like it!
I was thinking about this yesterday. It was my birthday and there were messages from all around the world and the love that I felt from my friends and people who I now consider family…. who I have met through Universal Medicine events and courses was so beautiful. It was also sweet to feel it from friends who are not part of the student body but who I have known for years. It brought me to tears and then I had that realisation that I used to be so closed off, didn’t let my love out or let others love in, and that has all changed. Many of my walls of protection have fallen and it feels so lovely to be loved and to love others as much as I do these days.
Paul I love your freshness and honesty it is very inspiring and your blog was a joy to read. I love it when Serge Benhayon talks about the stars and the Universe too, it is something we know little about in its truth, and yet when I hear Serge present about it, I can feel a huge warmth and knowing that feels like coming home.
I loved reading this Paul and I would love to hear more people’s early experiences of retreats or courses. I can still remember my first few courses and being introduced to a world that I knew was without a doubt true yet so different to how I lived and what I considered ‘normal’. I had no idea what I was stepping into but I did know there was no turning back.
Beautiful example of the fact that we are our own saviors; no one else is going to do it for us – ” this journey comes from within” as you have stated.
Truly inspiring, Paul, thank you for writing this, it has been lovely to meet with you and then to read of your experiences at the Retreat. I have been attending Universal Medicine events since 2005 and am still struggling with many temptations – it’s quite funny now to consider that the overindulgence in fruit, normally considered healthy, is now a sign of me having a bad day, because all the sugar in fruit, whilst not as bad as the actual sugar I used to consume, is still making me racy. As for chocolate – I’ve struggled with that for the last 12 years and Ice cream took me a while – I weaned myself slowly off these things, doing it at a pace that worked for me, trying to do it doesn’t work, it has to be a whole body decision, not just mind control. I loved reading your appreciation of all the hugs, that can put some people off but me, I love it too!
I love how, when we say no to what isn’t supportive and don’t go for cravings like coffee and chocolate etc., we open up to so much more. This is so poingnent for me to spot that part of me that doesn’t want or wants to resist surrendering to love and the grandness that is there for me beneath the layers of stuff I put in the way.
Awesome, Paul… a straightforward, real, and honest account. Very beautiful to read! I hope you enjoy many more universal medicine events… I’m sure you will!!
Love the honesty in this blog and how it shows that ultimately no matter where one is at in terms of their relationship with themselves and the choices they have made, everyone can come back to love simply because we are all made of it.
I have just done the UM retreats and like you Paul I found that Esoteric Yoga was a great way for me to re-connect with my body and therefore allow more of what was being presented at the retreat to go in. Esoteric Yoga gives us an opportunity to stop and feel what is really going on in our body at any given time and this is very supportive.
A very beautiful testimonial, pure and simple not unlike what is on offer at all Universal Medicine events. Thanks Paul.
‘ I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.’ A great realisation that can literally turn our life around. I am sure you and Rosie will support each other in living a vital and ever expanding way.
Your honesty and willingness to share your feelings is admirable Paul. I would think most people have been through having the way they have been living exposed when they arrive at their first presentation by Serge Benhayon, I certainly did too. Rosie is a lucky lady to have found you.
YES I am! and as a lover of writing blogs, when Paul woke me at 3am the day after the retreat and asked to borrow my laptop to write a blog… you can just imagine the smile on my face!
Paul – such an open sharing. Thank you. It shows that a small change can make a big difference and it is simply about experimenting with the body. My experience with Universal Medicine has been about ‘what if I try this now’ and simply see what happens. It is a very cool unfolding of whatever is next to open up too.
Paul, what a glorious celebration of your return home to the truth of who you / we all are. Thank you for sharing so beautifully.
“I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth”.
It is all in there like you say, it is our birth right!
Awesome to hear Paul thank you for sharing – raw, real and honest a lesson for us all.
I can relate to that feeling of not being able to keep the eyes open, the retreats run by Universal Medicine are powerful in the way they present the energy of what we could live and expose how I do live. It is worth sticking with those uncomfortable feelings as the layers of understanding about life are beyond anything I have ever experienced anywhere else.
A great choice to do something truly supportive such as a beach walk and sleep when you were seeing chocolate all around. In many situations in life when we are either tempted by old choices or affected by them there are so many things we can choose to support ourselves – walking and listening to what our body truly needs are great examples.
Paul thanks so much for sharing, from the outside there are many perceptions about what a “Retreat” is, I know the same for me was when i first went to a workshop I thought it was for “other sorts of people” but like you what I felt from Serge was so very different and something that is deeply profound, it has touched my life and I am deeply blessed. I love how you share how you didn’t give up even when your mind was playing tricks on you, very inspiring.
I adore your honesty Paul it shines out of your writing and how you can say that you definitely struggled but it was all related to the way you had chosen to live in the first place. We do not realise the damage we are doing until someone points it out so clearly, then we can sit back and feel the results of not truly looking after ourselves. From there we have a choice to change the way we live to be more loving or carry on as before, but at least we know there’s a choice to be had.
Nice one for sharing your experience Paul, I can tell you from experience that getting all that stuff out of your diet isn’t easy but its well worth the effort as you do feel amazing and what we learn from Serge and the Ageless Wisdom unlocks all the mystery about life and why we are actually here.
Deep down we relish truth when we hear it – it is a moment of homecoming – and a step towards bypassing the chocolate shop along the way. Truth is more delicious.
Attending an event such as the Universal Medicine Retreat can be super exposing, and I love your honesty Paul about what it brought up for you, and your willingness to look at it and take it on board. These Retreats offer so much about how it is possible to make huge shifts in the way we live that can benefit everyone and not just the individual. Your blog is very inspiring, thank you.
Thank you for sharing your first experience of a UniMed retreat and it is so powerful to hear your struggles but how you kept going and felt supported through your withdrawals from all that has been holding you back from being the true you.
I have to say wow Paul. You went cold turnkey on all your comforts for 5 days, but in the end found out what they had really been doing – ‘suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.’ That’s a priceless piece of understanding to get.
It must have been an intense time getting through the caffeine and sugar cravings, but awesome to come through it and to begin to feel the beautiful clarity in your body as a consequence. Serge Benhayon brings all the intelligence of the Universe to bear in these Retreats, offering us the most incredible space to connect, heal, deepen and appreciate who we really are and you really grabbed it with both hands, awesome!
Paul, this is amazing to read, so humble and beautiful, thank you for sharing your experience of the Universal Medicine retreat. It is very lovely how open you are.
Beautiful to read Paul. Thank you for sharing your amazing experience and well done for sticking with it. It certainly a challenge but as you demonstrate, so well worth it.
Thank You for being so honest and sharing your experience here, truly impressive and inspiring.
Knowing one or two people that have chosen to live life differently from the norm is just an odd occurrence. When you enter a room with an excess of 200 people, who accept everyone as equals and are openly loving to all, can be a bit of an eye opener, but, is felt within anyone that enters that what is felt, just feels right!
Welcome Paul. Beautiful that you were constellated to attend the retreat and realise that you have the choice for a new beginning.
Thank you Paul, for someone who has been to many retreats and courses – I never took the moment to appreciate what I had actually been working through and what I was coming back from – the glue that is chocolate, beer, drugs, TV, laziness, lethargy and given-up-ness et al etc. When I read this – direct, deeply honest and clear as a bell – I started to cry because this is it in a nutshell. An appreciation of the work you have to do to get clear – no judgement – no beating up – simple appreciation and confirmation. Beautiful healing for all.
Lee that is so true, it can be easy to take for granted the many loving choices we make. We can compare to other but rarely truly appreciate the depth of connection and clarity we feel with each loving choice that is made.
A beautiful sharing Paul and inspirational. There is no surprise though as your openness to what was there to be felt was clear. The body knows what is true and so the moment you felt this the choice was made.
A great post from a great postie 🙂
I love your sense of humour Nicola.
Thank you Chan – me too 🙂 🙂 🙂
I love, love love this blog Paul. I love how you have expressed about relating to the stars and constellations, and how you could see chocolate on all the tables around when it wasn’t there. Absolutely amazing. Go for it!
‘I started seeing chocolate on all the tables around me, even though there was no chocolate!’ This made me laugh Paul because it’s funny to notice how our minds can trick us. When I first met people from Universal Medicine who were not eating sugar, dairy and gluten I was blown away. I didn’t think this was possible but I was deeply inspired because I knew for a very long time these foods were not supporting my body and my health but I didn’t know how to stop eating them. You could say I was addicted to them. So, when I started listening to my body and started taking responsibility to truly care and nurture my body, I started to eat more nourishing foods and the junk food simply dropped away without trying or force. It was a natural process due to developing more self-love.
Super post Paul, love how you write, your honesty is gorgeous! I agree those [Universal Medicine] Retreats are a life-changer and the beauty of them is we go at the pace we choose; there is no contest when it comes to love, the beholding quality that allows us to beautifully unfold our true selves.
This blog brought tears to my eyes Paul. I absolutely love your matter of fact approach and the fact that you do what feels true for you.
We get so fixated in things getting ‘better’, like life should improve in a straight line, so when things get testing and a little bumpy we tend to react like it’s a bad sign. Your sharing Paul reminds me that with the most important things in life – it truly pays to suspend judgement and tenderly hold our own hand.
This is so gorgeously honest and real Paul, thank you so much for writing this beautiful summary of what a Universal Medicine retreat brings time and time again. A possibility to deepen our awareness of the truly Divine beings that we are.
Thank you, Paul. Your sharing is a great confirmation that the Ageless Wisdom lives within us all and whether we are ‘new’ and a first timer at an event is so irrelevant, we choose our moment for it to be reignited, then it’s there ready to be relived again.
‘It was lovely to meet some new people, and be supported with the right foods to keep me on track for the week.’ – It can be tricky living in a shared house where everyone has different food choices! I am the only one in my family who is gluten, dairy, sugar-free, which can be challenging at times as there is a lot of food of offer which I no longer choose to eat. I have found it very supportive to always ensure I put in the time to prepare food that I want to eat, so when I come home after work there is something that I know will nurture me, rather than being tempted to grab something that’s quick and easy to eat, but not supporting me at all. It’s interesting how often the food I make for myself becomes very popular with at least one or two family members 🙂
I love what you share here Alison, there are temptations in my house too, and on every street corner but at the end of the day, it is up to me to chose what feels good for me and go with that. I find that preparing some meals on my day off really helps me during the week to not cave into something that may not support me just cause I am hungry.
Thank you Paul for sharing your experience. Esoteric Yoga is such a wonderful part of the Universal Medicine retreats, for me it somehow helps to consolidate and process all the amazing presentations, which then supports me to make it part of my life. Great to get your perspective as someone relatively new to Universal Medicine.
I agree Melinda, the Esoteric Yoga is a massive support for our bodies to integrate and take in all that has been presented and offered, so that we can move in a new way. I love the yoga as it helps me to just be in my body and feel, feel, feel.
Love your blog Paul and your honesty. So many of us can relate, because we have been there ourselves. Reading your blog today reminded me of when I first started going to any of the Universal Medicine events… back then, I would drink, smoke, eat junk food, party to the wee hours of the morning and then be wrecked for the next day. That was my normal. Today my normal is so different and I love it. Instead I wake up in the wee hours of the morning to go to a Universal Medicine Retreat! I wake up early feeling vital, I have more joy and love in my life than ever before and I work more and you could say live more fully than ever before. Thank you for writing and sharing, it feels that you write on behalf of many, who would not be so brave to expose it all, yet many have had a similar experience.
‘Prior to the retreat I was nervous, unsure what was ahead.’ …. there is so much to deeply appreciate about your choice to attend the Universal Medicine Retreat, despite your, very understandable, uncertainty. Being open to the possibilities that life presents brings many gifts, often what we are being drawn to, even when we feel a level of uncertainty, is not ‘unknown’. Our soul is constantly guiding us, when we listen, and the pull is always back towards the divinity of who we truly are.
Hi Paul, loved your blog and most of all, it has shown me how we are all the same deep within and how we can tune into our real selves, once we receive the true insights and tools to do so.
This is an inspirational piece of writing Paul. I loved hearing what the retreat was like to you being there for the first time. Well done going without of coffee! I can still remember the caffeine withdrawals I suffered when I stop partaking over 20 years ago. They were so full on I never had even a sip of anything that remotely resembled caffeine ever since as I realised what a potent drug it was. I agree it is just the beginning and now it is up to us to use the tools that were so lovingly delivered in this retreat.
The Universal Medicine retreats give us a small ‘pocket’ in which we get to feel what it feel likes to live without all our crutches of comfort – this is not always entirely pleasant to feel at times but it is only because we are given the grace to feel how our lifestyle choices are not truly supporting the depth of who we truly are. On top of this, we are also presented with a wisdom that does not come from one or two mouths alone but from the deep well of love that lives within our hearts. This is why it is so inspiring to hear and feel what is being presented 1. Because we are able to hear, see and feel it because our usual vices (numbing devices) are not in place and 2. Because it reignites within us the same truth that has never died but simply been covered up with a lesser way of living. Your last line sums all this up beautifully Paul; “I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.”
Awesome blog Paul, I love your honesty and openness to what was presented at the retreat. I have been to two retreats so far and both of them were absolutely amazing. What I learnt from these events was life changing and I now have the tools to live a more responsible and loving life. Wow, what a huge difference from feeling exhausted, grumpy to now feeling energised, vital and loving life.
I love the honesty openness and the appreciation you have shared here Paul. Gorgeous how you so playfully describe the games that get played out in our mind especially when we are at the cusp of breaking through something. Not wanting to get our of bed and seeing chocolate on every table. Hah! Well done for spotting the trickster.
Paul in sharing that you “currently still like a beer, pizza, watching sport on TV, coffee etc” you have also shared that none of these things stop us from being the essence of God. In fact there is nothing at all that can ever stop us from being the essence of God, even the most heinous of crimes.
The annual Universal Medicine retreats without fail always leave me feeling inspired to be even more loving with myself, at work and home.
Amazing insights Paul from attending the retreat. You really do get to see where you’re at during the 5 days which I love even when it is challenging or confronting because I then have the opportunity to stay open to greater awareness of how I dull or stimulate myself to not feel the grandness that I naturally am.
Wow, This is awesome. It’s so beautiful to hear these types of experiences. So simple, no frills and so very real. Thanks Paul for being an open and honest man!
Wow Paul. I love what you’ve shared. Good for you for sticking with it – so much for you to appreciate about yourself.
“To be honest I struggled for the first two days . . . no caffeine, chocolate, dairy or gluten to keep me going. A bit of a challenge from my normal ways of living.” This is awesome strength presented here Paul. I have been going to Universal Medicine for many years more than you and I still get tempted by these foods. It is the understanding of “why” we are tempted, which Serge Benhayon has taught us, that makes all the difference to being able to observe the temptation. When we understand that those temptations are a set-up to make us dull and to dampen ourselves so we don’t have to feel the hurts and truth that is there to be revealed within us, that more awareness begins to shine a brighter light on our chosen behaviors and current movements. You remind me of a butterfly just fresh out of it’s cocoon in all its splendid colour and glory. That’s what everyone feels like after a Universal Medicine retreat. Joy filled gloriousness, with a tote-bag full of tools under their arm and a truer purpose in their heart.
Thanks Irena, lovely to hear from you and feel into what you said about the way Serge Benhayon spoke ..
I am so glad I wrote this blog. It brought tears to my eyes just by reading and feeling into everyone’s reply. I really hope I inspired some students to write a blog.
I am still in my cocoon but can see myself as a butterfly 🦋 in the bright future ..
Paul 😊
Amazing. I love what you’re sharing here Paul. Really beautiful to read. Thank You.
Paul this is such a beautifull blog, very sincere. I loved it right from the start. How you write is what I can and am sure many other people can relate to. I would love to hear more as more unfolds for you.
Thank you big time Paul for sharing. This is huge and very powerful to read. The strenght of all you experienced is felt in every word. An inspirational blog addition sharing your divine angle of truth and experience on Universal Medicine.
Paul – this is awesome in many ways and on many levels. Very cool 🙂
Paul your sharing is quite extraordinary as it highlights the fact that we are all the same. After such a short time of being exposed to the Ageless Wisdom you are solid in the knowledge of who you truly are, proving beyond measure that the Ageless Wisdom reminds us all of that which we already are.
I love your two feet in at the deep end approach Paul, early starts, no coffee or chocolate but an enormous willingness to learn, totally awesome.
I can absolutely relate to the struggle to stay awake and the layers of exhaustion being exposed. It is amazing how disconnected we can live from our bodies and it is only when all our props are taken away that we are left able to feel the true state of our well (or not so well) being.
I don’t drink coffee or have sugar except in fruit now and then, yet at times I still struggle to stay away because sometimes, to be honest, I just struggle with the truth that is being shared, and I switched off. Part of me really doesn’t want to, but at times, I just can’t fight it and I nod off.
Yes, I agree Fiona. Once we start to feel the underlying exhaustion, it is hard to fathom how we managed to ignore the messages from our bodies for so long.
Beautiful to feel your openness and willingness to be honest as to how you are feeling in your body and why. Very inspiring as it is this willingness to accept our responsibility for the choices we make that frees us to live in connection to who we are in essence. As at the end of the day we are the ones in the driver’s seat, and it is a blessing to be presented with, as you have wisely shared ‘…the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’
It’s awesome and inspiring that you have chosen to share your experience of the retreat in a blog Paul, thank you.
In the end it does not matter if it is chocolate, beer or something as simple as over eating in a meal or shutting ourselves down to not feel something – all these things end up with the same result which can exhibit itself as a craving and the body almost screaming for what actually bludgeons us! Every single one of us is familiar with this, and I can certainly speak from experience of having cravings for certain foods or overeating in order to dull myself out. But it is not really the body screaming for this bludgeoning, rather it is another part of us that begins to wake up and we get to feel more, and in the discomfort of feeling more, we then want to reach for something that gets us back to that stage of ‘not feeling’, only because we have forgotten that we do actually know how to handle what we feel. Amazing we are – amazing we are at feeling, but also in overriding these feelings and what a silly battle we continue to indulge in whilst the stars continue to shine and light the way, waiting patiently for us to respond in like. This realisation alone is enough for us to stop and turn our focus to what is truly important. Thank you Paul for your lightness and honesty and for reminding us all of the simplicity of life in and amongst the pressures to not be who we are.
Good morning Henrietta, thanks so much for your reply..it’s lovely to see everyone’s replies. It really helps me evolve. I’m already eating better and feeling more..
Paul, what a beautiful, appreciative blog – simple and straightforwards. It is such a blessing to be allowed to be, to be offered a space free from the imposition that we are so used to (and sometimes even seek out!), and wonderful to hear that you have connected to and are enjoying a deeper relationship with yourself, which is essentially what this is all about! What I love about your blog is that I feel every person can relate to this blog in one way or another! Thank you!
Thanks Paul – I agree Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon are amazing people sharing the wisdom of the universe with us in such accessible ways. Yet I still need to be responsible for my part so that I can receive all that is presented.
Such simplicity and power in your words Paul. You presenting your truth as to what happened to you when you attended the Universal Medicine retreat. I got goosebumps reading it. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, of you returning to know your divine right.
What a powerhouse are you Paul. To get right into it! I love your sharing so openly and honestly. We’re all the same as soon as we connect with our essence that is deep within everyone! There’s a way to live, a way to love, a way to be in life. That way comes from the inside out. In connection with the stars, with ourselves, with people, how rich can life be?
I love your sharing Paul: “I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.”
this is such a great realisation and in fact there are so many things we do in life that do just that, disconnect us from who we truly are – it is shocking and freeing at the same time and the UM retreats really encourage one to finding out more about this.
Love your pure straight forward honesty, Paul.
With Universal Medicine it is not about complying with any expectations, ideals or rules etc.
It is all about being real with where we are at and the freedom to make the choices we consider best for ourselves. That´s all.
How wonderful and simple it is to come back to who we were at birth. I know the feeling when you start seeing chocolate everywhere… a walk and a sleep have been the only things to deal with some of my less than helpful addictions too. Tiredness and freaking out about the less dramatic life and the clearer understandings often made me want to run straight back to not feeling but, to be honest, I couldn’t go back, it feels like poison now.
This is truly AWESOME Paul – a powerful and inspiring testimony to your experience at a Universal Medicine Retreat in Lennox Head. This really made me chuckle, as many of the student body would know this. What a great awareness you have.
“I definitely struggled but I loved what was presented: all related to why I was struggling in the first place!”
Inspirational Paul. It is truly joyful to feel and hear your words and the rebirth of joy back in your body and being. It is the beginning of the end of everything that is not you and that stops you from having a life you deserve… heaven awaits!
It great to read about your experience Paul. Such events can be both challenging and life changing and its wonderful to feel how open you are.
Very much appreciated Paul that you are sharing so honestly about your first timer experiences of the retreat. Amazing to read how you said to yourself I won’t give up. You got yourself through the initial resistance that day, you managed to support your body and at the end of the day you truly got confirmed how you had made steps towards being more of you, more clear and ready for even more; beautiful!
Those first days of withdrawing from eating/drinking certain foods are always making you feel you can’t live without them. What you shared here shows how we can do very well without them, even do much better in my experience, but it is just to hang in there those 3 days of withdrawal symptoms.
A fabulous testimony you have written about Universal Medicine here Paul, and equally a fabulous testimony of you, and your innermost strength to stay with it, despite all the cravings and thoughts that niggled away at you. High-5 to you!!
Wow,this was so gorgeous to read Paul. Your honesty and humility is an inspiration Paul, and I love your closing words: having ‘the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’ It is that simple isn’t it, there really is nothing else when we connect to that, remember and so so graciously make our glorious way back.
I too can relate to sometimes feeling tired at events with the richness that is being presented. I can tell how I am going in general by how my body adjusts to the energy the retreat is presented in.
Short and sweet and no sign of smoke and mirrors. It’s great to read how people see these type of events and appreciate and understand how things are for everyone. It takes a lot to write about your experiences as well and to have something written like this article. It made me smile and appreciate the retreat, the presenters, the author and the things around me now, thank you.
Love the sharing Paul! Gold. I remember when I first heard the teachings of Universal Medicine it challenged everything I knew and was my way of being, but somehow I couldn’t keep away, and like you discovered that it was not that it was the just the beauty of ‘Universal Medicine’ that I was connecting to but the divine person I also was at birth.
Awesome to read this blog Paul and also to meet you. Well done for making it through without the usual props we can use or go for when we get challenged to be more of who really are.
Growth is so much more than changing behaviours, it is bringing more and more understanding to our lives just as you have shared here Paul.
An awesome testimonial Paul, and “truly divine” indeed.
Thank you for sharing Paul. There is so much for us to re-connect to and appreciate, I find the Universal Medicine retreats so inspiring and the depth of what is on offer if we choose is immense….we uncover more and more of our selves very naturally.
The very beautiful thing here is that even though your body was releasing so much, you continued to listen and honour what you felt. Not because anyone told you to but because it felt true for you. This needs to be deeply appreciated. It was also a pleasure to meet and be in a group with you.
I had to laugh Paul when I read that you were seeing chocolate everywhere! It just goes to show that there is more to eating chocolate than meets the eye. We drink coffee or have chocolate usually because we are exhausted and need a stimulant to keep us going. All that is needed is to be honest about this and address the exhaustion and when we do that the need for coffee and chocolate changes.
Being open and willing to explore life and learn from our experiences is a beautiful way to grow and to see what helps us evolve and what may be holding us back from seeing just how simply awesome we all are. A deeply inspirational blog Paul, thank you so much.
Love this Paul, and incredibly beautiful that you have documented it as I am sure this will be one to look back on. It is amazing what happens when we stick with a caring choice, even when it is hard, it always seems like we come through the other side in better shape.
I love what you have shared here Paul – it very much reminds me of my first retreat too. Despite the reservations and tiredness there’s something that feels undeniably true and pulls you through. Gorgeous how you sum it up – not that you ‘got a lot out of’ the retreat as many people might say, but that it just reminded you of your natural way. Beautiful.
A beautiful sharing and what a place to start! The retreat is a massive and life changing experience because everything holds you, from the food prepared to the timing of the days and the presentations, it gives you an opportunity to spend several days solidly connecting back to you.
‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’ Wow, one retreat and you already completely ‘get’ what is on offer to us all. It’s so inspiring to read, despite your trepidation, and ‘withdrawals’, your love for and commitment to yourself and the truth was stronger.
Thank you Paul for sharing the commitment you made to yourself and the retreat and all that was on offer. A joy to read.
What a beautiful testament to you, Paul and your commitment to listening to your inner heart and not the little voice in your head, wanting to pull you back. It feels like you are already deeply appreciating the gift you have chosen for yourself, to re-connect with the very divine you.
Dear Paul, this is one of the most amazing blogs I have ever read. Because it so real, you are being yourself – it’s so refreshing to read.
Thank you for sharing this Paul, its always really cool to read and hear men sharing their experiences as often there are not many conversations that I know of where men share based on how they feel rather than what they do/are doing.
Wow, that’s amazing – you actually disengaged from your personal discomfort over the withdrawal symptoms from coffee, alcohol and chocolate enough to not only stay the distance and appreciate what was on offer, but also to feel and realise how clogged up and unclear we choose to live when we make these consumer items (I hesitate to call them foods) part of our diet.
Love what you share Paul, I too feel incredibly grateful to have been given the tools and way to reconnect to the true person I am and in fact we all are.
Congratulations Paul for your sharing of and completion of the Lennox Head Retreat.
Lovely to read about you experience Paul, thank you for writing it down. When we can see how certain foods or things we’ve been choosing in life have actually been suppressing us it then doesn’t seem so much like a loss to let them go but rather a regaining of a part of us we had not truly valued!
I love how you have expressed this Fiona, because to me, giving up the foods that harmed me, alcohol, and smoking is not a loss, but such gain. And so true, I had not valued this part of me because in the past I just was not aware.
I too have just attended the Universal Medicine retreat in the UK – and have found each one I have ever attended to be totally life-changing. I wouldn’t now miss them for the world.
Thankyou for sharing your experience Paul. Remembering back to my own first tastes of Universal Medicine – and learning about choices. Great that you chose to stay and be open to receive all that was on offer – and are now returning to ‘the divine person’ you were at your birth.
Thank you Paul, this is so lovely to read, sweet and simple and so honest.
Paul this is amazing. Thank you for sharing this. It’s great to read of your first experiences of Universal Medicine. I love your realness and your honesty. Thank you.
It’s interesting how much we love and our body responds to honesty.
Great testimonial Paul. Love the absoluteness of the retreats and how healing they are no matter who you might be or what is going on for you. There is an absoluteness to life that is shared that unifies and applies to us all, no exceptions.
‘I became aware of how all of what I have been eating and drinking was suppressing me and making me check out from life and from being the true essence of who I really am.’ – Hi Paul – it is amazing to hear the change of awareness you now have regarding your eating and drinking and the way this has been affecting you in life. Thanks for sharing.
As this retreat unfolded, the high energy that Serge Benhayon was presenting in was also bringing that sleeping feeling or as you say Paul, ‘my eyes kept on closing on me.’ Maybe it was that the truth, about the ‘stars’ or constellation, that my spirit was resisting?
Wow how beautiful Paul, so honest and so real what an amazing sharing of the truth and clarity your body can come to with the right support, diet and way of living and the lightness and joy you feel from this. Surely this is something we all want as a way of being who we really are, and this is a marker of the truth within us all, thank you for sharing this.
Paul, I absolutely love your honesty, even down to you seeing chocolate everywhere; that is one unusual hallucination! It is in sharing a lived experience, like attending your first retreat, in such a refreshing way that will without question inspire others to know that there is another way to live, a way that comes from reconnecting to the true you.
Paul it’s wonder to read how simple you have made realising that much of what we do is suppressing being who we truly are. Taking those steps to drop what binds us and accepting support from others is such a huge reminder that we are not meant to do this alone. I am so inspired to keep on dropping what isn’t me. We all know what is true and you writing this is proof of this and to never hold back this truth. Thank you.
That’s awesome, Paul! Good for you for sticking with it, even when you were hallucinating chocolate bars! I know myself that images of foods I suddenly crave sometimes pop in when I disconnect from myself, and it feels so good to not cave in but rather change my movements to re-connect, such as having a walk as you say.
A table full of chocolate, or a walk and a sleep, its interesting to clock these internal dialogues, these mind games and as we become more settled within it becomes easier to say no to the chocolate.
Your experience Paul is inspirational in itself and something to deeply appreciate. Your blog shows how we are the only ones who can make changes in our lives and look at our choices. I just finished the UK Retreat and it has been life changing. I watched two close friends do their very first Universal Medicine anything, and it was incredibly beautiful to see how completely normal yet profound it was for them… and as you say Paul ‘just the beginning’.
Beautiful to hear Aimee – and I agree, it is life changing when we embrace the truth of who we are and hold onto it and learn to live this every day. It is a true blessing to appreciate at all times!
The mind does play all kinds of tricks and if we don’t allow space for us to reconnect to “the true divine person” we really are we can head off on a wild goose chase far from the truth that we innately know and cherish.
As we have for lifetimes Elaine. Thank God for Serge Benhayon our brother, a little further along the Way.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Paul. I can really feel how much you appreciated what was on offer in the knowing that what you had come across felt true to you. I am really looking forward to reading more blogs from you about your experiences!
I love your honesty here Paul. It can be so challenging to stay awake when we’ve not lived in a way that supports our body to take on board everything that’s being presented, but awesome how you kept going. Great testimonial to the universality, simplicity and practical wisdom presented by Serge and Natalie Benhayon. no magic tricks and nothing we don’t already know, if we choose to be aware of it, but grand and inspirational at the same time.
‘The Esoteric Yoga complemented the work so well. I could get back into my body; such a simple exercise but so powerful that anyone, any size can do it. I felt so connected and clear afterwards.’
Esoteric yoga is amazing and yes for everyone of every shape, size, age and race. An amazing way to bring life to the practicality of simply being with ourselves and who we truly are.
I live in Perth and I simply love accessing the Estoeric Yoga six week program sessions online With all the beautiful practitioners. Each one offering an amazing flavour of reconnecting to myself and divinity within.
‘I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.’ pure gold – wise wise words.
What an awesome experience, Paul – thanks so much for sharing it and for your honesty. People sometimes see the diet and choices as ‘strict’ when in reality the choices are exposing a particular way of living. And for me, it was a long, but really cool experience when I gave up my reliance on the creature comfort foods as well as the caffeine hits I’d rely on throughout the day.
Wow Paul. This is amazing and you are so amazing to 1) have chosen to come even though you felt nervous 2) that you worked through what you felt and appreciated the love there 3) that you put this all down for others to read – a fabulous testimony. Thank you deeply.
There’s definitely no delay or holding back in you Paul. Rosie has got a catch in you. 🙂
Gorgeous Paul and good for you for sticking in there and following your heart even though it was challenging. You remind me of how much we know truth within, of course yes and that no matter how challenging or how much comfort is calling it is still simply a choice to which ‘voice’ inside of us we follow.
What an honest and open sharing and lovely to feel how you came to the event with that openness. I remember my first event very clearly and it felt so different to anything else I had ever experienced before, never had I seen the level of true connection between people that I witnessed that day and yet it is something each and everyone of us can live if we choose it to be that way.
A few years ago I had gone back to the US to visit friends and family. Someone I had to meet during a course Serge Benhayon gave in the UK, invited me to a meal with some of her friends, along with my daughter. The dinner was just a celebration of all of us meeting and coming together. My daughter asked all kinds of questions of the three women and myself about how we now lived. After we left, my daughter said she was amazed how I could give long tender hugs to people I had never met before? I told her, it was from not wanting, giving or receiving anything from them, it just felt like a joyful moment being shared.
I recently attended the same retreat but in the UK. I have done many retreats before but this time I had been living away for nine months and thus my arrival at the retreat was the first time I had seen many of the students for a long time and, like you, was so struck by the community, intimacy, transparency and friendships that were ‘on display’ when I walked into the hall.
So inspired that you kept going – even through the chocolate hallucinations! People have often asked me how I manage to have the ‘will power’ to not eat or drink certain things. Like you, it is not will power, it is an absolute knowing that these foods do not support me so a simple choice as to whether I want the short term taste of these foods or the long term taste of joy and vitality.
Beautiful and honest, thank you Paul. You and your words are what makes the day that much brighter.
“I realise this journey comes from within and feel grateful I have been given the proper tools to be the true divine person I was at birth.” The Unimed Retreats in a nutshell Paul, thank you! This is what Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon deliver time and time again, superb, tangible, simple tools that we can use to restore ourselves to the pristine, divine, wise and deeply caring beings we truly are, nothing more or less. Awesome Retreats that keep us deepening, expanding and expressing our awareness and responsibility for the incalculable benefit of all.
Paul, thank you so much for sharing your experience of the retreat with everyone, we can all relate to what you have shared. A few years ago a family member went along to one of Serge Benhayons presentations and from that decided to give up coffee and they said it felt as though they were giving up heroin. They had horrible headaches, sweats, shakes, felt really ill, was sick this lasted for 4 days and then they started to feel better and they haven’t had a cup of coffee since. Since then they too have made lots of changes to the way they live and all of this was inspired by listening to Serge Benhayon and coming to that realisation that here was someone who made complete sense of what was happening in the world and actually had the answers to the world’s dilemmas.
Awesome Paul, thank you for honesty. I have been attending Universal Medicine events for nearly 7 years now and have just completed the 6th UK retreat – similarly on the topic of the stars, the Universe and how it all relates to us all. Occasionally I still ‘see’ chocolate on the table too – or on the drive home – but what I have connected to within through attending these events is very powerful and much more than that bar of chocolate could ever offer me. The quality of what Serge Benhayon brings is absolutely consistent in my experience. His integrity is second to none. Paul, I hope you enjoy many more UM events.
Thank you Paul. Its really lovely to hear your story – from a ‘new kid on the block’ perspective. It’s inspiring to know that people can walk in off the street, so to speak, and immediately get what is being presented.
Yes, Gayle, this is a beautiful story. It seems to me that Paul was ready for it, all he needed was an invitation from Rosie. The constellations do work wonders.
Yes the constellations and the timing was just right! We have so much to share and learn from each other.